Implementing Technology In The Classroom

• Stimulus Money -- there was a lot of hype about extra dollars for educational technology and for keeping teachers in the classroom.  A lot of that money has gone out to states and, hopefully, to individual schools and districts.  Integrating technology in the classroom is important when trying to provide students with learning experience that promotes 21st century learning.
• Netbooks -- These "mini-laptops" continue to be very desired by the k12 community.  With these lower cost machines, large public districts are starting to implement 1:1 computing on a larger level.  Teaching strategies are really starting to focus on the use of technology in the classroom.
• Addition of numerous International Schools -- It seems that an endless number of International schools are embracing classroom technology at an astounding rate.  Many are moving to a 1:1 computing program and are implementing DyKnow as a part of that program as well.  We're glad to count them as customers and we love hearing about all of the great things they are doing (for example, when school is closed because of H1N1, classes continued to meet virtually with DyKnow).
• The release of 5.2 -- it's amazing what our software can do and the enhancements get better every year (for example, the PowerPoint Plug-In).  Here's a synopsis of what was new in 5.2...and there are a lot of things to look forward to in 2010 with 5.3.  Three cheers to our development team!

• Hands-on Classroom: Dr. Vince DiStasi, CIO and professor at Grove City College, will lead several sessions on implementing technology in the classroom. The session, called "Active Learning: Selecting Technology for Your Environment" will be held 4 times during the conference.  Check out this page for more information.
• Concurrent Session: Dr. Dave Berque, Computer Science Professor at DePauw University, will present "Using Audio and Ink Recordings, Tablet PCs and DyKnow to Maximize Class Time - Teaching Upside Down" on November 5th, 2009 from 2:20-3:10PM in Korbel Ballroom 2B.
• DyKnow Booth #1210: We'll have education software demos that showcase our classroom management software as well as our curricular software which includes classroom response technology, classroom capture and collaboration tools.
• HP Booth #1110: See how DyKnow software combines with HP hardware for innovative and reliable classroom technology solutions.

• Don't underestimate what you need for your network.  Infrastructure is incredibly important.  You'll need more bandwidth than what you initially expect.
• Hardware that is reliable and quality is important to faculty.  They won't want to create a meaningful classroom technology plan if the hardware won't consistently work for them.
• Make sure there is enough work space for students (previously this meant actual work space, now that means enough screen real estate on their devices).
• Applications supporting the classroom experience are important as well.  Some are discipline specific; others will have campus agreements.
• Students won't always use the tools if they have them.  They must understand what they are and how they are used.  For example, students use MS Word to take notes, because that's how they've always taken notes on a computer.  Once OneNote is explained (more as a collection tool for gathering information, like note taking), they are more likely to use it.
• Why a Tablet PC? A Tablet PC is "a laptop on steroids."  It's particularly useful for when a pen/pencil is needed.

• With DyKnow, you're not asking faculty to change a lot about the way they teach.  If they write, they write on a Tablet PC instead of a chalkboard.
• If they like PowerPoint, they now have a PowerPoint Plug-In to use.  They can use existing PowerPoint, create polling questions during prep time, keep animations, and even launch a DyKnow session from PowerPoint.
• The DyKnow Suite has many layers -- like an onion.
• It's a good tool because most students today are not good note takers -- DyKnow makes it easier for them to understand what is important.  But the key is not to make them passive learners.  There are interactive tools in DyKnow to ensure students are involved.
• The software ensures that students are able to replay all of their notes after class.  If a teacher records audio during class, that stays with the notes from class.
• A very useful part of DyKnow is that it provides different ways to collect student work.   There is no handing out and collecting paper.  Everything is done in DyKnow.  For example, a quiz is sent to students, collected upon completion, reviewed after class and the graded quiz is sent back to students electronically.
• DyKnow is client/server, not peer-to-peer. So it allows student to connect from a distance.  They have students in France take a class with students in PA.  Students are paired up in a small group, even though they are not physically together.
• Another way to collect feedback is through a poll.  This way it is anonymous, but the results are there for the entire class to see.
• There have to be pedagogical goals (engagements, problem introduction, challenge artifacts, etc) with any sort of activity implemented in DyKnow.  Students will know if you are just giving them busy work.
• The idea of collaborative note taking is powerful.  Faculty determine how much information to give to the students.
• What's important to the faculty?  The finished product or the process the student took?  Replay allows faculty to see the process that the student took.  
• If you are using small groups, you only have to grade the groups' submission once and it will send the graded paper back to all of the students in that group.

I don't know where it all came from, but it seems as if every day there is an exciting new tool available to use in your classroom.  But as these new tools become available, there's been an interesting and, in my opinion, unanticipated distinction made between them: public and non-public.  I've heard lots of different terms based on the tool and the market the tool is trying to speak to, but when it comes down to it some tools will let anyone join/share/access content while others enforce some means of access control. 

One of the first stories like this was between MySpace and Facebook.  MySpace saw an initially much higher success rate by being completely open (to join as well as to view pages).  Facebook, on the other hand, would not let you join unless you were a student/faculty at one of the supported colleges and would only let you see the information of your friends or fellow classmates.  Eventually Facebook started letting anyone join, but the information is still available to only your friends and those in your "network."  Then there's Ning, the exciting make-your-own-social network tool, which gives the best of both worlds by offering the ability to keep your network public or make it private to members only. 

Twitter requires an account to add content, but anyone can access the tweets at anytime.  The hundreds of options for hosting a blog have privacy options allowing you to setup allowed admins, authors, and readers.  And one of the tools I've discussed earlier called Noteflight has a feature set aimed specifically at classrooms.  This feature set is designed to be private.

And it all surprises me as to why there is a push for privacy controls.  In a lot of ways, I would really anticipate the interest and momentum to be outward towards public, open discourse.  Isn't the crux of Web 2.0 tools to establish connections on a scale never before possible?  Is there really less value placed on interfacing with experts and establishing your voice in a global arena? 

Don't get me wrong.  My friends and I have our own private blog where we share and discuss items of interest.  By making the blog private, we have a level of intimacy possible only by the assurance of a familiar audience.  In a lot of ways, in retrospect, this has enabled even the more timid in the group to share openly as they only have to get past the theoretical judgements of us instead of the whole world. 

I do not undervalue this.  In fact, drawing the parallel to my work, I am always very encouraged when I hear teachers talking about using the anonymous panel submission feature in DyKnow to encourage a more open discussion of sensitive matters.  I agree that it's critically important to find ways to engage all students.  Also, it's admittedly hard for me to understand all the issues related to public sharing of content since I'm not in a position of support of such a system.  DyKnow was designed to be a classroom-focused, centrally managed system, but there are no separate classes in a public forum- just the forum itself.  So naturally my experience with the very real concerns of a pubilc system have been vicariously through blog posts and articles I've read. 

And of course I understand that there are real problems that must be overcome.  There's a very real need to be cautious when putting student information online.  We all know that if a student isn't safe, they won't be able to learn.  There's also a need to be cognizant of potential legal liability on the school for content published (although this could lead to an excellent discussion of freedom of speech and libel).  And there's going to be a question of parent and community buy-in (where applicable): if parents don't want their kids' content publicly posted there is a responsibility to respect that.  Finally, there's the extra diligence that is required when moderating comments, etc that may be coming from the outside world.  After all the main advantage of a public system, other than sharing with the world the accomplishments of your students, is the ability to open up the discourse to the outside world.

But in the face of these concerns, I wonder if we're throwing out the baby with the bathwater, and I wonder (and would really appreciate thoughts on this) if the opportunity to legitimately and authentically engage in a global discussion is worth finding reasonable answers to these concerns (for those that appear to be more than trivial).  And does the sense of ownership and pride that would come from publishing overcome any theoretical comfort the walled garden can provide (and does, as I would expect, the real-life social pressure from classmates to contribute keep any concerns in the periphery). 

Finally, I wonder how this applies to DyKnow.  As I said before, DyKnow was created to be centered around the idea of the classroom.  Roles are defined along educator/student lines and all users are organized into classes.  This has let us be a centrally manageable and well-organized solution thus far, but in our greater mission to help increase student learning through technology, is this a leap we need to take?  What are your thoughts on challenges implementing public content vs the walled garden variety?  Do you feel that classroom technologies should all move towards an open/public model?

• In 1996, they were the first school to go 1:1 and did so by working with Toshiba and Microsoft. 
• In 2003 they started using Toshiba Tablet PCs in their program. 
• Now every student and teacher in 5th through 12th grade has a Tablet PC.
• They have deployed Windows7 to about 200 computers and have been very happy with its performance.

1. Those who write as much as possible and expect the students to write all of that as well.
2. Those who use AV (videos, audio, etc) and aren't really engaging the students.

• At any time he can collect the students' work -- from one student or from the entire class.
• He can see the process of how the student solved the problem.  DyKnow automatically "records" each step that the student took so you can replay each student's work step-by-step.
• It's easy to make a student the teacher so they have control to share their ink and text with the rest of the class.  One student could lead class or several could be chosen to share the space at the same time.  Rob equated this to giving every student interactive whiteboard technology.
• For those who are familiar with clickers, DyKnow has a polling tool built in that can accomplish just about the same thing.  Rob said that this is a nice way to see if the class understands the topic.
• Students can be encouraged to work individually.  The purple ink only appears on the projector so that he doesn't write over what the students have done.
• Students can replay this information outside of class as well.  If the lesson is recorded, students can listen to the audio as well. 
• The chat feature is useful as well. Rob even utilized this outside of the classroom when he had to be at home for the school day and his students were taking a test in class.
• He uses the classroom management software, DyKnow Monitor, not just to keep students focused, but to be able to watch their screens in real-time.
  

In true Apple style, there have been few leaks straying from the basics that help us draw a clear picture in all of this speculation.  Amid all the Mac tablet (possibly named the MacBook Touch) rumors, I’ve put some thought into how a device of this kind might translate to our world of education. 

First, let’s look at the basics that the rumors are telling us.  The device is to have:

·         a 9”-10” multi-touch display

·         No physical keyboard (so it will be a slate tablet)

·         WiFi and Blue tooth (obvious)

·         Multiple USB 2.0 ports for connecting peripherals

·         Audio in and out ports

·         A dock connector for your desk

·         And run a modified version of OSX

Now, for good reason, slate tablets have gained little momentum in the consumer or education market.  However, the traditional slate is missing one very important component that could potentially make this Apple device succeed -- multi-touch technology.  The ability for students to manipulate on screen objects, images, documents, and applications can provide the much desired hands-on aspect that many digital classrooms lack.  Imagine a music class composing music with a virtual piano.  Imagine a geometry class manipulating 3D shapes to compare their relation to real-world architecture.  Imagine an English class reconstructing a passage during a peer editing session.   This added value could have huge implications in the classroom, especially in the primary grades which often lags behind in the integration of technology.  So is this the end-all be-all for education technology in the classroom?  

Not so fast.  While this is a highly anticipated release (especially in the gadget blogosphere), there seem to be a couple of major roadblocks impeding Apple’s path to educational technology domination. 

First and foremost, the lack of a pen (or stylus to be accurate).  The major advantage of a tablet over a traditional laptop is the ability to “ink” directly on the screen, essentially creating a digital notebook that functions identically as a pen and paper notebook.  The ability to write, draw, erase, label, and make any other marks you might make with your pen on paper is invaluable in the classroom.  Writing or drawing with your finger can only take you so far.  It simply won’t cut it if you are working an algebra equation or handwriting class notes. 

Second, the lack of a physical keyboard will make it hard to gain widespread acceptance as a primary computing device.  In my opinion, this is the main shortcoming on any slate tablet.  Of all the things that can be done with touch or a pen, typing on a virtual keyboard just won’t cut it when typing anything longer than a couple of sentences.  Sure, you can always attach an external keyboard, but that sounds about as appealing as plugging into a phone line for Internet access.  It gets the job done but just isn’t feasible for day to day use. 

Now, there is one more factor that will be sure to play a large role in the overall saturation of this device.  With a speculated price point hovering in the $700 - $900 range, many schools may see this as an opportunity to grab ink/touch device at a cost closer to that of a netbook.   The aforementioned missing features, while small on the consumer side, may greatly influence the adoption in education but it may simply be counter balanced by price.  Still, with every article I read I continue to get the feeling that this is going to be a secondary device, a multimedia extension of one’s current Macbook.  I just find it hard to believe that in its current rumored state, it can be a primary computing device put into the hands of millions of students.  Depending on which, if any, of these rumors end up coming to fruition,  maybe the shortcomings of the device will be far outweighed by the benefits (or vice versa).  Either way, many people will be waiting to see if Apple will actually develop a device with widespread appeal to education or if will stick to its roots as mainly a consumer device. 

All this said, it is still a hardware device and, as we all know, hardware can do little without quality teaching and classroom software to go along.  Coupling a device with interactive software like DyKnow can help bring the electronic classroom to life to take the teaching and learning beyond the actual hardware.

I was having a conversation last week with a friend who teaches in one of the top districts around.   She talked about some of the frustrations with the beginning of the school year since her school had decided to go paperless, even though they had not made the jump to a 1:1 environment yet. Now, I have long been an advocate of the paperless classroom for many reasons, but this may be jumping the gun a bit. It is proven (by many of our current customers none the less) that in the proper environment and with the proper tools, schools can successfully forgo the use of thousands of sheets of paper without losing a step. Many schools have turned to DyKnow as one of the tools to assist in this process by providing teachers and students a way to share content during class and communicate their thoughts and work. 

The idea of going paperless in the classroom is a much larger undertaking than what many realize and is much more than a lofty concept. Months and even years of preparation are put into the implementation of a 1:1 program that will allow schools to successfully go paperless. This is a goal that more and more schools are realizing and proving the benefits go well beyond the costs of a successful implementation.

I encourage you to take a few minutes to read a case study on St. Ursula Academy in Cincinnati: http://www.dyknow.com/pdf/casestudies/StUrsulaCS.pdf. They are in the heart of a successful 1:1 program and are experiencing these benefits first-hand.