Evan OBranovic
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Learning First, Technology Second

2/1/2018

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Learning First, Technology Second: The Educator's Guide to Designing Authentic Lessons. (2018). 1st ed. [ebook] Portland, OR: International Society for Technology in Education, p.Cover. Available at: https://www.iste.org/resources/product?ID=3975&ChildProduct=4012 [Accessed 1 Feb. 2018].

The #ETCoaches book study of Learning First, Technology Second, The Educator's Guide to Designing Authentic Lessons has just wrapped up and my brain is overflowing with ideas and theories of how to best integrate technology into our educators' teaching and student learning. Liz Kolb, ISTE author and Professor of Edtech at U of M (I had to put aside my college bias, but couldn't deny the incredible work done by her and her colleagues. Go Green!) put together an amazing book and resource that revolves around the Triple E Framework and ISTE standards to think about technology integration to ensure that a teacher and student's learning goals are met. The book brings into context several other frameworks, including two that I've discussed on this blog and with my own staff. TheSAMR and TPACK frameworks definitely have their place in the edtech discussion, but I like how the Triple E Framework is immediately ready to be used as a quick evaluation tool for teachers and administrators to assess a lesson and what technology you may have included to enhance, engage, or extend the learning goals based on your curriculum or standards.

​The framework revolves around the three main concepts of engagement, enhancement, and extension. 

A8: Frameworks are important as references for educators when implementing tools/strategies to accomplish #learninggoals. As mentioned by many #ETCoaches #TPACK, #SAMR, & #TIM all have pros/cons so it's important to use as guide & not step-by-step instructions. #icanhelp #tripleE https://t.co/UG20KJ5Dce

— Evan OBranovic (@EvanOBranovic) January 25, 2018

Engagement in learning goals is the first component or measure of the framework. Just as you would guess the purpose is to look at how any technology tools you are using will help students engage with the desired learning goals and classroom tasks. I thought the books discussion of false engagement is a critical component we need to consider when evaluating our tech use. We cannot assume engagement just because  student is using a piece of technology, but we need to ask ourselves if they are active participants in their learning with the aide or addition of technology. The book discusses a variety of strategies to promote engagement including things like guided practice or co-use and provides context for how to think about them in a handful of scenarios where you can think about and visualize the process. Kolb lists the three questions below to ask yourself when measuring the engagement of your learning goals through a tech tool:

1. Does the technology allow students to focus on the assignment or activity with less distraction?
2. Does the technology motivate students to start the learning process of knowledge gathering?
3. Does the technology cause a shift in the behavior of the students, where they go from being passive to active social learners?
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*Learning First, Technology Second: The Educator's Guide to Designing Authentic Lessons. (2018). 1st ed. [ebook] Portland, OR: International Society for Technology in Education, p.50-51. Available at: https://www.iste.org/resources/product?ID=3975&ChildProduct=4012 [Accessed 1 Feb. 2018].

A11: Love @InsertLearning as a way to take static digital resources & add a variety of dynamic elements to engage students in the information being presented. Ss become #activelearners w/ time-on-task and can particpate in #co-use or #socialuse. Check it out! #ETcoaches #edtech https://t.co/2pRKUCdHHD

— Evan OBranovic (@EvanOBranovic) January 31, 2018

A12: Going back to yesterday's answer I think @InsertLearning has the ability to hit #Engagment or #Rebellion based on the purposeful planning & use by the T. Like all the models/frameworks it's largely on the T to keep those #learninggoals in mind when using any tool! #ETCoaches https://t.co/AHbeW8eOs2

— Evan OBranovic (@EvanOBranovic) February 1, 2018

Enhancement of learning goals is the second element of the framework and has a teacher look at how technology adds value and scaffolds learning for students. Keeping higher-order thinking skills in mind is crucial to thinking about the enhancement a piece of technology can bring to your lesson and help accomplish your lesson goals. The book includes a list of tools/resources that can provide enhancement such as Kaizena and Imagistory with additional description and explanation. The same scenarios are provided from the engagement chapter, but take the questions below into consideration when evaluating a lesson plan with its learning goals:

1. Does the technology tool aid students in developing a more sophisticated understanding of the content (higher-order thinking skills)?
2. Does the technology create scaffolds to make it easier to understand comprehend or demonstrate their understanding of the learning goals in a way that 
3. Does the technology create paths for students to comprehend or demonstrate their understanding of the learning goals in a way that they could not do with traditional tools?


*Learning First, Technology Second: The Educator's Guide to Designing Authentic Lessons. (2018). 1st ed. [ebook] Portland, OR: International Society for Technology in Education, p.64-65. Available at: https://www.iste.org/resources/product?ID=3975&ChildProduct=4012 [Accessed 1 Feb. 2018].

A14: Setting up co-use with any #digitaltool is □ for #engagement. Most of our best work is done in teams & our Ss are no different. Whether the tool has built-in collaboration tools or not, allowing Ss time to work together w/ "turn & share" or “I do, we do, you do”! #ETCoaches https://t.co/fCQSd5vsks

— Evan OBranovic (@EvanOBranovic) February 5, 2018

A15: #MyMaps is a great tool that #enhances S understanding of a variety of concepts utilizing maps. Ts can design lessons that allow for deeper understanding, differentiation, & demo of learning not possible w/ traditional maps | ✅ it out: https://t.co/v0T6UGs0ii #ETCoaches https://t.co/bISNrHkMae

— Evan OBranovic (@EvanOBranovic) February 6, 2018

Extension of learning goals is the third and final component of the framework. The focus is on something I think good educators already know which is learning does not and cannot take place in isolation. If we are not looking at how what we teach our students is connecting to their own lives then how do we expect them to find a value and retain what they are learning. Kolb discusses several tools including GooseChase and Lab4U as ways to extend your students' learning. Like the  previous two components of the framework the same learning/classroom scenarios are listed while taking the three questions below into consideration:

1. Does the technology create opportunities for students to learn outside in their everyday lives?
2. Does the technology create a bridge between school learning and everyday life experiences?
​3. Does the technology allow students to build skills that they can use in their everyday lives?


*Learning First, Technology Second: The Educator's Guide to Designing Authentic Lessons. (2018). 1st ed. [ebook] Portland, OR: International Society for Technology in Education, p.78-79. Available at: https://www.iste.org/resources/product?ID=3975&ChildProduct=4012 [Accessed 1 Feb. 2018].

A18: I created this #MyMaps lesson on Population Growth: https://t.co/OUKV759z7T after taking a great course from #edtechteamonline! I think it would really #engage Ss in #authentic extension of their learning! #ETCoaches #edtech https://t.co/OqBI2Axmid

— Evan OBranovic (@EvanOBranovic) February 9, 2018

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Triple E Framework. (2018). Triple E Framework. Retrieved 1 February 2018, from https://www.tripleeframework.com/

Understanding the three components and their role in good technology integration is done very well by Kolb in the book. This includes scenarios to understand the components, examples from the field, instructional support strategies, and lesson plan templates. One of the best tools she gives you is the Triple E Measurement tool and access to a free digital version on https://www.tripleeframework.com/ . This has been my first experience with a framework that has a digital resource can be used right away to evaluate a lesson and have quick feedback on where it falls within the framework and its areas of strength and weakness.  Take 5 mins and review a lesson you have created with the easy to use rubric HERE and make any adjustments to get the most out of your lesson and accompanying tech resources to best achieve your learning goals.

A19: The evaluation rubric for lesson design: https://t.co/yhX6k4dpSN | is a great tool for educators to help put the @TripleEFrame in context to a lesson you have designed. I've even set aside my college bias to appreciate quality work for EDU! #GoGreen #MAET #ETCoaches https://t.co/oYBgQhO4dg

— Evan OBranovic (@EvanOBranovic) February 12, 2018

There you have the tip of the iceberg when it comes to understanding and using the Triple E Framework for effective tech integration. Do yourself a favor and grab a copy of the book and really dive into what the Triple E Framework is all about and how you can begin using it to put some thought behind your tech use in teaching and learning. Better yet, read it with some colleagues to really get a group perspective and avoid learning in isolation. Reach out on Twitter mentioning @TripleEFrame & #ETCoaches and grow your PLN with an amazing group of educators (many whom participated in the recent book study and slow chat). If you have read Learning First, Technology Second please leave any insights in the comment section. Always keep those learning goals first and you'll be amazed at the results!

A26: The overarching theme of this book of keeping your #learninggoals in focus even w/ the addition of #edtech is such an important message for #ETCoaches to remember! It was great to connect w/ so many like-minded educators, add the @TripleEFrame to my tool-kit, & grow my #PLN! https://t.co/Meiv1BzKS0

— Evan OBranovic (@EvanOBranovic) February 23, 2018
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Classroom Management in the Digital Age

9/1/2017

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Dowd, Heather, and Patrick Green. Classroom Management in the Digital Age. Digital image. Classroom Management in the Digital Age. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Sept. 2017.

My awesome fellow Integrator and #ETCoach, Anita Moose, recently organized a book study for the book Classroom Management in the Digital Age. If you haven't yet checked out this amazing resource I recommend you go grab yourself a copy right away and get reading as this school year begins to hit full stride.

One aspect of the book I really liked was its lack of focus on a specific technology or device. With so many options out there for schools and classrooms it's great to see a focus on the strategies and skills needed to be successful in any classroom that is technology-rich regardless of type of device or tool. 

Here are some of my take-aways from the book:
  • Culture Setting (pg. 21) - When using technology setting a culture of success is so important. There are many things to take into consideration when trying to create a positive culture, but some of the key points are defining your digital citizenship expectations or acceptable use policy (AUP). It's also important to define your school-wide culture as well as your classroom culture. These two items absolutely feed off each other and need to work together and get buy-in from teachers and students. When a positive culture is created to embrace the use of technology to help teachers teach and students learn you are setting yourself up for success.
  • Avoid Teacher Techno Panic  (pg. 22) - "Teacher Techno Panic" is a common problem in most districts. There's a lot of points of failure in using edtech and thought of a well planned, engaging lesson falling flat makes most teachers cringe. Having an analog (traditional) activity planned as back-up always gives you a safety-net and tremendously ups the odds of everything going off without a hitch.
  • Dealing with Distraction (pg. 34) - Technology is a powerful tool, but it has also created an inherent distraction as we all try and multi-task. This is a crucial skill to teach our students. Most importantly, the concept multi-tasking is a myth, we can't do multiple things at once we can only divert our attention from one task to another often making things take much longer than if we focused on one at a time. There are some great (and simple!) strategies in the book to help you support your students in dealing with the distractions that can come with the use of tech.
  • Create Engaging Lessons (pg. 45) -  As stated in the book, "Of all the strategies we share in this book, this is the best one." and I whole-heatedly agree! With or without technology a teacher cannot expect success without some thoughtful planning of engaging lessons for your students. Avoiding "Google-able" questions so students have to "...analyze, evaluate, and create." Making sure your technology use is for the purpose of creation which is  infinitely more engaging will greatly help your lessons. Giving the students choice in what and how they participate in a lesson is another key area in creating a engaging lesson. A student will always do more when they are given more and as a teacher you are tasked with building parameters that will allow them that power but stay focused on the goal. 
  • Partnering with Parents (pg. 63) - As with most things with students, you cannot be successful unless you have both the students and their parents support. It's important to remember that many parents went through their education with the lack of technology (though this is quickly changing) and will need support and explanation of what is happening. Using a variety of communication tools is paramount. Traditional Newsletters, social media, and open houses in a combination are great avenues to let parents know what's going on. Some of the most important elements to communicate are the "why" and the "what". The "why" is the bigger reasons for what you are doing in your classroom. Why are you using devices, why is your classroom designed the way it is, why are you teaching the curriculum, etc.. The "what" is less nebulous and over-arching, but still very important. What are your classroom expectations, what does your curriculum cover, what class activities did you do today? Getting your students on board is one task, but getting their parents in lock-step with what you are trying to do will make you unstoppable!

Those are a just a few of the great topics in this guide, but having your own copy on hand gives you access to a library of strategies with far more depth. My partner, Anita, arranged a hour long twitter chat with the authors and members of her book study, below you will find some highlights of the conversation, but the entirety of the chat can be found using the hashtag #CMDigitalAge.  Not only is it important to reflect on these ideas and strategies, but collaborating with fellow educators can help move the design process along for shaping your policy and expectations.

Join us tonight, 7PM MST for a Twitter Chat about classroom management in the digital age. #CMDigitalAge @AspenSchoolDist #tetcoaches pic.twitter.com/ak0Fs6z0qr

— Anita Moose (@amooseIT) August 23, 2017

A1 Heather in St. Paul, Minnesota. Teacher, Tech Coach, and co-author of #CMDigitalAge with @pgreensoup. THANKS for joining us!!

— Heather Dowd (@heza) August 24, 2017

A1 Patrick here from Singapore. I'm co-author of #CMDigitalAge EdTech Coordinator and Site Director of @GOAlearning at #sasedu

— Patrick Green (@pgreensoup) August 24, 2017

A2: making sure Ts don't feel overwhelmed to use tech for tech sake and find meaningful purpose for curriculum! #CMDigitalAge https://t.co/qK2xEWHwkk

— Evan OBranovic (@EvanOBranovic) August 24, 2017

A2 Sometimes we roll out the tech quickly without putting thought into planning for it. We need to prepare and plan. #CMDigitalAge

— Heather Dowd (@heza) August 24, 2017

A3 Attention Signal: I like to holler "Head's Up!" and then wait, but the expectations are most important to reinforce. #CMDigitalAge pic.twitter.com/cB3er1PstD

— Patrick Green (@pgreensoup) August 24, 2017

A3: I love to get students attention by starting a video, funniest first... Then hit with the engage vid for the lesson #CMDigitalAge

— Lisa Highfill (@lhighfill) August 24, 2017

Be flexible, just like we teachers always have to be!! #CMDigitalAge https://t.co/KABqRiT29e

— Heather Dowd (@heza) August 24, 2017
There's nothing quite like the real thing, so consider picking up yourself a copy of Classroom Management in the Digital Age and join the conversation on twitter at #CMDigitalAge. Please comment below on any of your highlights from this resource.
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Flipping the Classroom

4/1/2017

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Many people have been talking about flipping the classroom, but I feel like it has hit a wall when it comes to implementation. Some of the road blocks are obvious: lack of access, lack of training/PD, and unclear learning targets, but what are other reasons are there for people to take advantage of this strategy? I think the unknown is one of the biggest hang-ups people have in looking to implement this in their own teaching and I've put together a presentation with some resources to help get you started.


Some of the highlights from the presentation that I find particularly useful are:
  • Screenshots/Screencasts/GIFs - I love making GIFS using the program licecap and then inserting them into slide shows to provide simple step-by-step instructions on how to accomplish a task.
  • Edpuzzle - Great website I've dove into in previous posts that allows you to do some basic editing and add your own narration, audio notes, and questions to a online video that students can watch at home and come to class prepared to skip the lecture and get right to the active learning. 
  • Google Forms - Get creative with features like 'sections', 'Go to page based on answer', and 'data validation' to make Forms way more than a simple survey or assessment tool.
  • Google Docs - Hyperdocs/Multi-media texts - By looking at a redesign of how you can deliver content to students using Google Docs you'd come across Hyperdocs which allow for a million variations of individual and group lesson delivery. Check out some of the many templates available online to get started and let your creativity take your students to some amazing places all while learning.
  • InsertLearning (formerly DocentEDU) - An amazing tool that I've written about before and with a new look, name and some new features is not to be overlooked as a great way to deliver almost any web content to your students in your own custom platform. 

I made sure to mention the ISTE standards and SAMR and TPACK models at the beginning of the presentation to get people thinking about the "why" when it comes to using any of the tools to try and flip content. I think when we have purposeful use of these tools to deliver content to our students in effective and innovative ways we can really see the benefits of flipping the classroom and how it can impact the work we accomplish with our students. My biggest piece of advice is to start small and focus on one area you really see potential in and branch out from there. If you have any great examples or experiences flipping your own classroom feel free to comment below. Feel free to refer and use the presentation for your own teaching and have fun flipping out!
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TPACK and SAMR

1/1/2017

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When making a push to integrate technology into our classrooms the ASD tech team wanted to find a way to reach our educators in a deeper way then simply showing them "cool" tools that can make their teaching easier and their students more engaged (though those are good things too!). We found ourselves looking at our own philosophy on how we view technology in education and had hoped that the teachers would find our department's foundational pieces as enlightening and helpful as we did.

It came down to two models for viewing technology and its integration in to the classroom. SAMR (Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition) and TPACK (Technology, Pedagogy, and Content Knowledge) are fairly well known and are used by many teachers and schools to evaluate or reflection on how they are using technology, but I feel they are often set aside when a teacher keeps coming back to using various technology to support their teaching and a student's learning. Our tech team felt that if we could provide a interactive refresher for staff to look at these two models and define them in their own terms, then maybe we could spark the idea of how to effectively integrate technology in their classrooms and use us as a resource to do it.

SAMR - There are lots of resources out there to look at what exactly SAMR means and how it applies to educational technology. I really like the video explanation by Common Sense Media found here. Created by Dr. Ruben Puentedura, this model frames how technology can be used in education and what the evolution looks like as more tools and increased skill levels are applied.  I like the analogy that this model is like a pool: depending on what you are trying to accomplish a simple substitution or augmentation might be as far as you need to take it, but getting into the deep end of modification and redefinition is where the most authentic learning will take place and really transform what you are doing. 

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TPACK - I have a special place in my heart for the TPACK model as I am a graduate of the MAET program at Michigan State (Go Green!). Again, I really like the video introduction and explanation done by Common Sense Media found here. Created by Punya Mishra and Matthew J. Koehler at Michigan State University the TPACK model looks at three major areas in education and teaching: It looks at Content Knowledge, Pedagogical Knowledge, and Technological Knowledge and frames it in a Venn diagram to help visualize the intersection of these important areas and how they work together and can build on one another to create excellent teaching practice and in turn, student learning

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http://tpack.org

So in order to expose our staff to these two models and how they applied to technology integration we created the slideshow below and had teachers spend time in small groups learning and jigsawing ideas of what these concepts mean to them and how they can apply it to their own teaching. We did the presentation three separate times in each of our buildings and were amazed at how engaged and thoughtful the staff was at working through this process. Shortly after each presentation my fellow integrator (Anita Moose) and I were constantly approached to help teachers with ideas or next steps for using these concepts to better integrate technology into their lessons. Feel free to make copies, modify, and use with your own staff to teach these crucial concepts of technology integration. ​Comment below on any experiences you have had with these two models and any success or struggles with implementing them.

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    About Evan

    Tech Integration Specialist at the Aspen School District. Level 2 Google Certified Educator. Former 4th grade teacher and Spartan for life! Go Green!

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  • Home
  • Edtech thoughts, tips, and tricks
  • Showcase/Presentations
  • About Me
    • Teaching Philosophy
  • Resume
  • Essays
    • Goal Statement Reflection
    • Future as a Learner
    • Synthesis Essay
  • Annotated Transcript