Many people might currently be experiencing the increasing anxiety of seeing technology become more prevalent at RJ without comprehending, “how are we going to do this?” In order to alleviate some of your concerns, here is the overall vision of the next three years, including some minimum expectations for next year.
Overall, think of the goal for this year being developing some confidence in your use of the iPad. Right now, that might mean for some of you the ability to read and send email, steadily increasing into the use of some apps (Pages, Keynote, Camera, etc.) or features of the iPad (Airplay with AirServer on your laptop). Others are experimenting with the Canvas or SpeedGrader apps, using Safari or Chrome to post or grade assignments, or using Dropbox for file management or Socrative to administer formative assessment. For all of us, the plan is during this year (highlighted by the training in February), you will learn how to use the basic iWork (Pages, Keynote, Numbers) and iLife (iPhoto, iMovie, GarageBand) suites, and you will start to see what is possible regarding curriculum transfer (Canvas) and curriculum design (iPads). We are neither expecting or demanding that everyone adopt a “flipped learning” environment. As a matter of fact, there is no one right way to use the iPad in the classroom. There are many ways and ways that each of us will adopt as we continue to learn more ourselves. The minimum expectation for next school year will be that you:
- Post assignments and grades on Canvas;
- Redesign one assessment incorporating the capacities of student iPads;
- Administer one quiz in class using the iPads (can be through the Canvas app, or using programs like Socrative);
- Redesign one homework assignment that is based on what an iPad can do, its capacities as opposed to the capacities of pen and paper;
- Utilize AirServer one time in class to project either your iPad or having a student project his/her iPad onto the projector screen (audio and/or video not required).
These are very basic things that will be minimums to build your capacities. It is expected that you begin to see technology as a tool that is more than a replacement for pen and paper or bookshelves, but that with Canvas, the iPad, and digital textbooks, there is the opportunity to do more with our curriculum and pedagogy that has been previously available.
Again, this does not mean next year the expectation is that you are using technology all of the time in your classroom. You must have the independence and vision to discern when its use will assist and/or enhance student learning and when it will not. But this also demands that we, together, start to grapple with the difference between not using it because, "I don’t know how to use it" and not using it because, "I know what it could do, but other learning objectives demand another choice." This is a difficult process of calibration and training, and we are fully aware of this. Thus, the message today is: It’s okay. We are taking it slowly and want to increase your capacities so that you can thrive in your development with these technologies. We are scaffolding our community’s calibration and training (for this is not about any ONE of us, it is about us together learning and assisting each other) to help us achieve a consistent and intentional incorporation of technology into our curricular goals and professional pedagogy.
Year zero (this current academic year) is planned to achieve the above results. To get there, we are bringing in Apple and Eduscape Learning to train us in February. Further, a new position has been created called Department Techs (for a list of who they are, see below). These peers will serve two roles:
- Animate your use of technology by serving as sometime trainer, sometime resource, sometime problem solver, and sometime brain-stormer;
- Assist in getting feedback back to us (admin, Kenny, Jason, Kathy) that helps our planning and training for you.
These Department Techs will be holding department trainings on various apps between now and Feb. 18th (the date Apple and Eduscape will be here), because this is mandated by Apple for that training (we are required to train you to basic competencies in Pages, Keynote, Numbers, iPhoto, iMovie and GarageBand).
Year one (next year) has the expectations as stated previously (the five minimums). As you continue to gain confidence in the device due to training and exploration, our goal is that you begin to see how to creatively begin to adjust your curriculum and even look to what it would be to redesign it with the iPads in mind. We will have more training from Apple, Eduscape or another organization (already budgeted and planned) in order to facilitate this process of envisioning curricular possibilities that are available due to an iPad being in the hand of every student. A crucial part of this process will be our collegial environment of sharing ideas, working with one another to build flexibility in our capacities with the iPad, risk taking and brainstorming with assessments and homework, and a spirit of support in trying to improve the learning community here by using effectively, and with discernment, technology.
Year two and three then have as general goals creative curricular design and building our school into a community using technology (faculty, staff, and students) to learn, together.
Finally, to move from relying on outside trainers (they have their place, but are expensive), we will be increasing opportunities for faculty, especially Department Techs, to go to conferences to help them bring back to campus more iPad and technology ideas specific to departments (there is a reason I don’t teach math and some of my ideas might not be suited for the math room). This will animate our creativity and competency, focus it in our subject area, and foster our commitment that no one person can perfect the use of technology in his/her classroom, it will take us working together from all ends of the technology adoption spectrum to turn our school into a successful 1:1 environment.
BD Dept. Techs:
Andrew Carroll
Bill Kehrman
Bruce Raymond
Bryan Timme
Candace Busselmeier
Dana Bauer
Dustin Dvorak
Mark Heidenry
Matt Klassen
Ryan Katz
Ryan Taylor
GD Dept. Techs:
Will Cropper
Erin Cassidy-Cernanec
Kirsten Landry
Tim Bauer
Jennifer Meyer-Rose
Katie Mihalco
Christine Oliver
Linda Kozler
Carol Ann Sass
know you likely have many. You may also talk with or ask your department’s Department Tech and they may have answers for you.
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