Class Discussion and Collaboration Made Better with Voxer

By Ed Tech Maniac, Darin Anderson

If you are reading this, it is likely that you are about as tech nerdy as they come. While it is doubtful that a teenager looks at a new app and thinks, How can I use this in school?,  most of us in #EdTech land seek out the educational and instructional potential in each and every new tech device, app, or fad that comes along.

Recently, I was introduced to Voxer by a teacher peer who uses the app to keep tabs on the latest and greatest goings-on with his PLN. As he uses it for such practical advances as sharing lesson ideas and resources, I began to wonder how students could also make use of Voxer's capabilities for more than sharing pics from the football game or messaging answers to tests back and forth. (Not that any group of students would ever do such a thing.)

If you are unfamiliar with Voxer, here is an introduction:

Upon exploring the app, I began to settle in on what is perhaps an obvious conclusion: student collaboration. But however blatantly simple it might seem, the practical uses of Voxer in a classroom setting - the collaboration potential - has my head spinning.

Here are just a few of my ideas:

• Groups of 3-4 each discuss a different, yet related, topic. Then each member is to add a voice message or two to classmates in different groups. In a matter of a few minutes, there exists a threaded backlog of student thoughts and responses, available for review at any time.
• Allow pairs to message one another back and forth during review time, brainstorming sessions, or just to discuss a concept. The relative safety of speaking to just one other classmate has the potential to elicit better responses.
• Anytime Learning is a snap with Voxer as kids, and teachers, can keep conversations going beyond school hours.
• Voxer has a feature that shows users which group members have heard/seen the message and which have not. This allows the teacher to know who is engaging and who is not, at least at a superficial level.
• Brainstorming project/product ideas with others is easy with Voxer. Whether on the bus to a football game, sitting in math class, or at home on the couch, if a thought strikes, send a Vox.
• PLN collaboration on Voxer allows more depth than 140 characters on Twitter. While I am in no way discounting Twitter chats, Voxer lets users send voice, picture, and link "Voxes" as well as unlimited-length text messages.
• Personal notes and reflections from both students and teachers. Students can reflect on learning as a type of formative assessment, while teachers can also use the app to reflect on lessons that rocked...or those that went awry. 
• Continuous staff or department chats. Voxer just might be the solution to discussing issues outside of PLCs or department meetings. No more field trip discussion getting in the way of data analysis and planning.
• The groups are relatively private, unlike a Twitter chat which all of your followers can, well, follow. If you are not invited to a Voxer group or discussion, you will be none the wiser about content. 

There are a few caveats to consider as you look into using Voxer:

• Voxer works on smartphones. However, If your school does not have Wi-Fi access for student devices, then student mobile data usage may become an issue. Conveniently, it works just fine on a laptop.
• Not all kids will enjoy hearing the sound of their own voices in the playbacks. It could make for some awkward moments.
• Listening to responses can be time consuming and some students - and teachers - will prefer not to engage at the depth you'd like.
• Voxer integrates with Dropbox, even as most folks have become Google Drive users. Not necessarily a huge concern, but something to keep in mind.

Certainly, there are several tools available out there to help spur along student discussion. The basic - but by no means is it basic - version is free, and there are some very nice extras tacked on to the paid edition, which is a paltry $3.99 a month.

Feel free to reach out to me on Voxer to discuss this or any other edtech topic. My handle is darinanderson :-)

I'm running a professional experiment. How do U use @voxer in your classroom? Plz reach out to me at darinanderson #EdTech #SatChat #SunChat

— Darin Anderson (@coachdarin22) September 11, 2015

Doodlecast Pro: A Whiteboard App Perfect for Teacher Feedback

By Ed Tech Maniac, Darin Anderson

Work smarter, not harder...with Doodlecast Pro Among many other benefits, This app makes providing teacher feedback a breeze! #edtech

— Darin Anderson (@coachdarin22) August 28, 2015

cocteautwins.deviantart.com

If you are like me, you love a good whiteboard and set of colorful markers. Like Picasso and a blank canvas, I see before me endless possibilities of words, shapes, and meaningless scribbles and diagrams (or highly meaningly, depending on the person taking it in).

Now that modern technology has entered the picture, the same concept has made its way onto iPads, tablets, and Chromebooks that, while not as messy or fulfilling as an Expo Masterpiece, provide opportunities for users to design, produce, and publish their creations to a wide audience.

Certainly, there are several whiteboard apps on the market, and they all provide nearly the same features and capabilities. However, there is one particular app that I came across recently that does something intriguing to me. As a Google Drive advocate and undying supporter, I am always on the lookout for apps, add-ons, and programs that are Drive ready.

So I introduce to you Doodlecast Pro, a whiteboard app that offers drawing, video, voice, and photo capabilities with nearly seamless integration with one of several cloud storage services - Google Drive being the best, IMHO - and YouTube, if that meets your fancy.

Aside from some obvious student uses - explanatory videos, non-linguistic representations, or realtime math solutions, to name just a few - Doodlecast Pro offers teachers the ability to provide meaningful feedback about student learning is a very efficient and effective manner.

Traditionally, educators have given students static paper assignments - worksheets, math problems, writing prompts, etc - and provided feedback in much the same way. That is, formative feedback has normally been written on paper, and, quite honestly has been less that helpful. After all, what teacher can spend the hours it takes to write constructive and helpful comments on 123 papers and return them in a timely manner?

Who are we trying to kid? The comments they do write have been largely ignored by the very audience they were written to help. Certainly, we expect our students to take an active role in the revision process, but if THIS is the feedback they get, who can blame students for feeling confused and frustrated?

What possible help could this feedback provide
to help a student improve?

Look closely at the circled comment on the middle bottom of the paper. What does it say? "See me after class," so the teacher can assumedly tell the student what he cannot put into written words in the margins.

The solution?

The power of Doodlecast Pro is the power to provide digital feedback in the form of visual and auditory content. We know that face-to-face communication is one of the most effective methods of providing feedback to students. We also know that meeting one-on-one with students on a consistent basis is very difficult and time-consuming given the mandates of assessment and large class sizes.

Doodlecast Pro can help alleviate some of those constraints. In effect, after a teacher provides verbal AND written feedback on an assessment of some sort, via this amazing app, simultaneous feedback sessions for any number of students can be built into each and every class period. While watching personalized videos, students can all take part in the revision process as the teacher moves about the room providing specific instruction to just those who need it versus spending an entire class period conferencing with only a limited number of kids.

Compare the following example of teacher feedback - created with Doodlecast Pro - posted to YouTube:

44 seconds of video explanation can be so much more effective that writing feedback on the paper, especially for a struggling reader or an ELL. What's more, the feedback is available at all hours of the day, not just when kids are at school.

Here are just a few suggestions for implementation:

Worksheets: Take a pic of the completed worksheet and talk your way through specific feedback on any or all of the questions/problems. While worksheets are not necessarily the best option for students (especially if you are reading this EdTech post), the act of turning the feedback into digital form is a great leap towards 21st Century Education.

Constructed Responses & Essay Draft Assistance: As shown in the video above, talking and annotating over a student's work has greater effect than written (and often vague and confusing) comments.

Math Problems: Both students and teachers benefit with the capacities of Doodlecast Pro. Kids can talk their way through math problems/concepts while afterwards, teachers can respond with verbal and visual feedback of their own.

Fine Arts: Verbal feedback given over a still photo of a student's painting, sculpture, design, etc is a snap with Doodlecast Pro.

Physical Education: While Doodlecast Pro does not support video annotation, still photos of form during skills performance can easily turn into auditory and visual feedback.

Keep the feedback flowin' with Doodlecast Pro!

periScopeOut: Showcase Your Students and Your School

By Ed Tech Maniac, Darin Anderson

Pop Quiz:

What do these photos have in common?
    

A: They all illustrate the lighter side of education
B. They all use education to entertain us
C: They all remind us of our school experiences
D: They all portray a negative image about schools

(Answer at the bottom of this post)

When I was growing up, I had the notable schedule, as did many of us, of watching Saved by the Bell every Saturday morning and then catching The Simpsons on Sunday night. Throw in the Fresh Prince during the week, and I was hooked up with all the teenage humor and drama that I needed.

Without a fully developed frontal lobe, of course I could laugh at the hijinks and timely zingers delivered in each of the episodes and not even bat a questioning eye. I especially chuckled at the good-natured jabs at public and private education. I mean, who doesn't love a joke at the principal's expense? It was funny television, and that was okay with me.

Now that I am older and wiser (the ol' prefrontal cortex is just about there, folks!) I can see the errors of my ways. Sure, there is still plenty of humor to be found in shows like this, but with my ability to "know better," I can see the shows I used to love for what they were.

Think of what we learned about education from each of these sitcoms:

• Principals and teachers are fools and should be made fun of whenever possible
• Breaking rules was not only okay, it made one legendary (See: Bart Simpson & Will Smith's School Jacket)
• No teaching ever went on; it was all dating, drama, and detention
• Making fun of teachers and classmates was also an easy way to achieve legendary status (see: Screech, for the end result of that.)
• Bright and hardworking students (Lisa Simpson) were made the brunt of jokes - because who needs smart people, right?
• As for nerds, well, it was always open season on them. Right, Carlton?
• Above all, school was a place to goof off, while actual learning was unheard of 

The ultimate result, perhaps, was a generation of students who hated going to school because it did not fulfill their Saved by the Bell fantasies. Now these same folks are sending their own children to school decades later. (Yes, it HAS been that long.)

Many parents have a poor taste in their mouths when it comes to their own kids' education in large part due to the many many changes that have taken place in schools over the past couple of decades. Increased Federal Bureaucracy, No Child Left Behind, Common Core State Standards, Performance Based Pay, Instructional Technology, and Flavor-of-the-Month Professional Development, to name just a few.

Add in occasional physical or sexual assault charges, unfair educational practices, rants on social media, or a major television series, and you have all kinds of negative PR about the otherwise wonderful schools across the world.

All of the noise has caused a small but growing firestorm about American education that seems to portray a system that is broken and with no redeemable qualities. To hear some tell it, the teachers of today are lazy and don't care about their students. They are less apt to teach, and more likely to complain on Facebook about their lousy, worthless students and how underpaid they are. They deliver subpar instruction while planning the next teacher's union protest...or lunchtime potluck.

To be clear, there are many instances of schools, administrators, and teachers being up to no good. As educators we know going in that there is a different expectation on us than on other professionals. Don't believe me? When was the last time you visited with your dentist about bicuspids and the quality of dental floss while chatting in Aisle 5 of the Piggly Wiggly?

If we cannot do much to overcome the national trashtalk about education, how do we go about controlling the message that goes out about OUR OWN schools and OUR OWN kids?

Most schools invite parents and community members to take an active role in their schools, from volunteering in classrooms to viewing performances and presentations. Further, school districts and individual schools have a solid social media presence. With Facebook messages or the occasional Tweets, we can keep stakeholders up on the latest announcements and happenings in our schools.

But how many times do schools combine the concepts of visitors and broadcasting outside the building? Check this out.

Up, Periscope.

Periscope is a relatively new app that lets users broadcast a live video feed from almost any smartphone or tablet, and it happens immediately. Since it is linked to Twitter, Periscope will automatically post a link to your live feed to make it accessible to anyone who follows your account. In an instant - just give your broadcast a name and tap the start button - you are live to the entire world. One the broadcast is ended, the entire video is automatically saved to your Periscope account. And it is all for free!

Here are some practical uses for Periscope:

• Classroom lectures and presentations can be viewed at home by students who are ill or just as a refresher from kids who were in attendance.
• Parents who are unable to attend their child's class presentation can still join in on the fun.
• A proactive principal or teacher can broadcast school activities or innovative class projects as they happen.
• Students can Periscope each other completing components of a project. (think: PBL)
• Back to school night, or math night, can go worldwide as a principal scans her building in search of positive comments from staff, parents, and students.
• Extracurricular activities can unite a community when put on Periscope.
• Opening a new or building or wishing to show off major renovations? Periscope it!
• Field trips remain more than just a memory when they are broadcast to the world. During and afterwards, students and parents can watch the feed and relive the experience.
• Seamless integration with Twitter, expands an already powerful educational tool.

These and many other uses combine to make Periscope a viable resource to control your school's message. Sure, core groups of parents know the goods and the bads of your school district, but with Periscope, you can stay on top of the best parts of what you do for your kids.

As for the answer to our questions...

LIVE on #Periscope: The Answer to Our Question https://t.co/gNFEoNFCsz

— Darin Anderson (@coachdarin22) August 8, 2015

How Technology Can Foster Divergent Thinking in Our Students

By EdTechManiac, Darin Anderson

In his book Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell lines out the differences between convergent thinking and divergent thinking by discussing two different types of questions.

raventest.net

The first question type, Gladwell explains, is the convergent kind, often used by prestigious universities and high-powered corporations to measure intelligence and aptitude of potential applicants and employees. Convergent assessments, such as the Raven's Test (or Raven's Progressive Matrices), developed by psychologist John C. Raven in 1939, are typically used to determine a person's IQ.

Raven's assessment gives users a series of multiple choice questions in the form of patterns, and they are to identify the shape that will complete the pattern. Simply stated, the convergent mind will be better able to decipher the patterns and ultimately end up with the single correct answer. From the total number of questions answered correctly, the test-taker is given a final IQ score. If it is high enough, Gladwell notes, he or she receives a free pass to Harvard, Cambridge, or another such institution. If it is too low...hello, State U!

Gladwell also touches on a second question type - those of a divergent nature. This style of questioning opens up opportunities for creativity and imagination, as well as analysis and cognition (landmarks of convergent tests). Outliers describes just such a question:

"Write down as many different uses that you can think of for the following objects:

1. a brick

2. a blanket"

The testing subject is then given a fixed amount of time to provide as many responses as possible. There are no "right" or "wrong" answers...just answers. Thus whatever direction(s) the test-taker chooses to go, the results are divergent.

A quick comparison between the two types of questions may lead to some of the following conclusions:

• Only Smart people do well on convergent tests
• Average and Below Average people do not excel on convergent tests - they're too hard for them
• Smart people can also do well on divergent tests...because they are smart...Duh!
• Average and Below Average people can do well on divergent tests because there are no wrong answers; they are fail-proof
• Convergent tests are a better method of assessing intelligence than are divergent tests
• Analysis and reasoning are more important to intelligence than creativity and imagination

I suppose in the world of "logical" thinking, these theories might pan out. However, before you draw your final conclusion, take a look at the divergent test responses of two people tested by Liam Hudson, a noted British psychologist:

1. High School Student named Poole: (Brick) To use in smash-and-grab raids. To help hold a house together. To use in a game of Russian roulette if you want to keep fit at the same time (bricks at ten paces, turn and throw—no evasive action allowed). To hold the eiderdown on a bed tie a brick at each corner. As a breaker of empty Coca-Cola bottles. (Blanket) To use on a bed. As a cover for illicit sex in the woods. As a tent. To make smoke signals with. As a sail for a boat, cart or sled. As a substitute for a towel. As a target for shooting practice for short-sighted people. As a thing to catch people jumping out of burning skyscrapers.*
2. High School Student named Florence: (Brick) Building things, throwing. (Blanket) Keeping warm, smothering fire, tying to trees and sleeping in (as a hammock), improvised stretcher.*

*Source: Gladwell, Malcolm. Outliers: The Story of Success. 1st ed. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2008.

Given the choice to associate with either student, which of you would pick Poole and who would chum around with Florence?

Now, how about a closer look at their respective aptitudes?

Poole is defined in Gladwell's book as a student "in a top British high school," while Florence was described by Hudson himself as "a prodigy, with one of the highest IQs in his school."

Both able and willing, but, as Gladwell poses it, which student is more likely brilliant and creative enough to win a Nobel Prize?

Looking back at some of the most successful people of our time, we see names like Walt Disney, Martha Stewart, Steve Jobs, and Oprah Winfrey. Certainly, these folks, and hundreds of others, have exhibited a certain creativity and innovation along with astute cognitive abilities that helped them on their path to greatness.

But what about this list of similarly successful folks?

(L-R) Taylor Swift, Rhonda Rousey, Kevin Hart, and Lionel Messi (Highlights here!)

While this group exhibits notoriety in pop culture arenas, they each certainly display the same kinds of creativity that we look for in sports and entertainment figures. Those qualities and ideas have even crashed their way into the corporate world. Enterprises like Google, Microsoft, and Facebook are famous for offering - even requiring - their employees to spend time being creative. This freedom to explore and create without fear of failure has led to some groundbreaking technology that most of use daily without so much as a cognitive thought.

It is this kind of philosophy that should permeate each and every school system across our country. So much is said in education today about creativity, imagination, and risk taking...but nothing ever really has happened on any kind of large and meaningful scale. There is so much resistance to change.

However, the ball is rolling and it is gathering steam (S.T.E.A.M. - get it?) as is evidenced by the huge movement towards education technology and associated programs such as Ed Camps, Maker Movements, and Hack-a-Thons that pop up all over the country on an almost daily basis.

And that is the crux of my argument. Technology use - in and out of the classroom - can help foster divergent thinking in a way that was unheard even 5-10 years ago. Divergence has typically been seen as an anti-societal norm, especially by the so-called establishment. Going against normalcy was met with detention, suspension, or expulsion when in fact it could have been an opportunity for exploration and development. (Understand I am not talking about malicious behavior in school, although such is often exhibited as a result of boredom or irrelevancy of content in the classroom.)

Now that divergent ways of teaching, learning, and thinking are becoming more mainstream, educational technology is poised to make an even bigger splash.

Here are a few examples of how technology can help foster divergence in the classroom:

• Collaboration with other like-minded users via social media. No matter how big or small one's location is, a student cannot always rely on having someone nearby who shares the same ideas and interests. With the ease of social media, students of all ages can find and reach out to others with similar goals and aspirations. In the case of October Sky, for example, how much would those boys have benefitted from social media contacts outside of West Virginia?
• Access to various points of view. With careful and calculated consumption, our students can learn as much as they want about nearly any subject and from all angles. A wolf protector in Chicago, for example, may learn how the predator affects the very way of life for a farmer in the Intermountain West. Or an avid hunter might understand how some Native American cultures view certain animals.
• Access to material that was once only available for the social elite. No longer must the teacher or the textbook be the sole sources of information. In fact, we have more access available to us in digital format now than ever before. In Good Will Hunting, there is a famous line that goes as follows: "You dropped 150 grand on a (expletive) education you could have got for $1.50 in late charges at the public library." First uttered in 1997, the words seem to be even more true now, and we don't even have to leave our couches!
• Avoiding functional fixedness with online gaming. Growing up, you perhaps thought that your mother's sauce pan was made for just one thing...a drum, of course! Then one day, you had a crazy idea - what if you could make macaroni and cheese in the inside of your drum?? Viola! Functional fixedness destroyed. Daniel Pink is well known for his book Drive, in which he offers this set of pictures that depict and experiment conducted by psychologist Karl Dunker in 1945. The task was to attach the burning candle to the wall with only the thumbtacks. With some creativity, it becomes possible...as long as the box is seen as more than just a container for holding tacks. This kind of divergent problem solving is on display in a game called Limbo, available here. It's a bit dark, but it does get the job done. As do many, many other games.

The notion of divergent thinking is nothing new. However, encouraging our students (and teachers) to think that way has often been viewed as a bit of rebellion at worst, or non-compliance at best. Changing the perceptions of "it-worked-for-me" parents, community leaders, and legislators has been a struggle as well.

The fact is, while some aspects of traditional education are irreplaceable, so many others are outdated and irrelevant with 21st Century teachers and learners.

In the early 1900's, Robert Frost penned words that turned out to be well ahead of his time:

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference." #EdReform #EdTechChat #EdChat

— Darin Anderson (@coachdarin22) August 4, 2015

What if Frost's teacher had told him there was only one road to take?

Lessons in Education, Featuring Gary Larson: Part III

By EdTechManiac, Darin Anderson

Many of Gary Larson's comic strips from The Far Side tell so much of a story without so much as a word of dialogue. With his brilliance - no matter how off-the-wall it might be - Larson can indeed draw a picture that is worth well more than a thousand words.

In Part III of the EdTechManiacs comical Gary Larson series (see Parts I and II here), we will discuss how the "delicious" dish of liver and onions relates to the kinds of products we deliver to our students in the classroom and to teachers in schools across the country.

Compare this comic to a classroom
setting from your past. What did you learn?

This Larson offering is both playing off of the innocence of youth and preying upon the insecurities of all of us. Remember, ages ago, when you would clamber outside at the very sound of the ice cream truck rolling down your street? Do you also recall the opposite emotions upon finding out that your mom was making your least favorite meal that night? (Mine was goopy and neon green split pea soup.) This cartoon sums up both the elation of summertime treats and the gloom of unappetizing fare.

Honestly, most of us are fairly competent at sniffing out each kind of opportunity. As the old adage goes, if it looks like liver and smells like liver, it's probably liver, no matter what lengths a person goes to in order to make it seem otherwise. Our students, on one hand, are especially keen at this - and the younger they are the better they are at it.

Kindergartners enter their first year of "official school" having gone through six years of questioning and inquiry and curiosity. Many times, they also lack a filter that typically comes with maturity and age. (This is why a 5-year-old can get away with calling a man fat, while a teenager would get scolded for not knowing better.) All of this results in groups of children who know what they want ...and also what they do not want.

Our students come into our schools with preconceived ideas about what they want to learn and what they will attempt to avoid at any cost. Granted, so much of their desires center around content that schools cannot offer directly, but the students still show up with that yearning to learn more about them.

Even as traditional school may be a chief contributor to killing that creativity and inquiry, this Larson comic speaks volumes about changing school culture at fundamental and actionary levels.

How can we better gear our kids towards reaching standards outside of their control while also allowing them to achieve their own learning goals? This becomes the $68.6 billion question that educators must try to answer.

Let's begin jumping into the answers to this deep and broad subject by posing a few more questions.

• How many educational opportunities are packaged as something inviting and cutting-edge, but really offer only outdated or irrelevant information and content?
• Or worse, why is something viable and meaningful too often delivered via a vehicle designed for carrying disgusting meats?
• How can we do it all without adding anything more to our already heavy plates?

To me, any response to this question begins with some analysis of your constituency - students, parents and/or staff. You may think you know what your kids need, for example, because of mandated testing, curriculum maps and such. But DO you really have a finger on the pulse of your kids? Or your staff?

Like the kids in the comic, you might be approaching them with some scrumptious liver...when they are actually looking for a dreamsicle. I mean, who would do that, right?

To a certain extent, our hands are tied when it comes to the WHAT in education. However, we have a multitude of options when it comes to the HOW. With that in mind, we can better serve others if we know more about what they like (ice cream) and what they do not (liver).

To begin, here are a few "Livers" (things that were once cool, but are now like the 8-Track) that might be better left behind:

• Introducing and delivering content via PowerPoint - They are essentially the same as paper, but you can't doodle on them during classes or PD days.
• Sit-and-Get lectures and PD offerings - Today's generation is mobile and agile; sitting is the new smoking
• Pencil and Paper worksheets, graphic organizers, and, well, anything - While I understand that pencils will never become obsolete, ummm, neither will technology.
• One-at-a-time student presentations - Not only do these take up valuable instruction time, they also take up way too much time. Did I mention that they are time-consuming as well as lengthy? Oh, and it's boring, too. 
• Teacher-Assigned Products or Projects - Honestly, the world does not need any more landfills full of dioramas and tri-fold posters.
• The Archaic "No Cell Phones" Poster - Nowadays, it's the same as telling folks to leave their textbooks and such at home. The mobile device is a powerful tool that can be used for good AND evil. The choice is up to you.
• Speaking of Textbooks... - With constantly changes research landscapes, textbooks are almost outdated the moment they are published. Up-to-the-minute information is available at the touch of a screen. Why fight a losing battle when learners will head to Google anyway?

Rather than rolling down the street in our Liver-Mobile - even with the catchy trolley-style music - we could approach our Cell Mitosis unit or Standards-Based Grading PD (or whatever) from a different perspective.

Try these on for size:

• YouTube - Your kids use it...so should you. Perfect for flipping or blending instruction and for anytime learning.
• Social Media - Of course, this is a biggie for most of us. So brainstorm ways to get your kids and/or peers discussing and collaborating on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
• 3D Printing - What if your 2D doodles could come to life as tangible 3D objects? This is a current craze that will only gain more ground as the products advance. What was once untouchable technology if now fairly standards in most schools.
• 4D Augmented Reality - Programs like Aurasma, Augment, and DAQRI have taken interacting with content to a whole new level. Once limited to just consumption, AR programs are now beginning to allow kids to create and publish their own 4D designs.
• Green Screen Technology - What used to be sophisticated and expensive is now available on laptops and tablets alike. Going green allows for creativity and expression while also producing quality content that is digitally shareable. Did I mention that it also saves valuable instruction time?
• Making the World a Classoom - Whether it is connecting with someone from abroad on Twitter or sharing resources with a classmate from across town on Google Drive, people are no longer limited to what they can see from their own location.
• Gamification - On the heels of the recent Microsoft purchase of Minecraft, the EdTech world is all the more abuzz about combining what many kids already know - gaming - with what they "need" to know (in an academic sense). With some creative thinking Clash of Clans can indeed become a viable curriculum.

As we look to advance our field and hone our craft, we will be in a constant state of research and reflection. Change is certain. No longer should we disguise liver and onions as quality education. One taste and they'll figure it out. 

As #educators do we provide #relevantinstruction for our schools or R we delivering #liverandonions? #EdReform pic.twitter.com/CSsavE6bHa

— Darin Anderson (@coachdarin22) August 3, 2015

Lessons in Education, Featuring Gary Larson: Part II

By EdTechManiac, Darin Anderson

In Part II of our comical series on education reform, we examine two different ideas of education in need of some reform. Oh, and ducks...there will be lots of ducks.

Like most of Gary Larson's The Far Side comics, this particular frame offers both a superficial humor as well as a deeper, more philosophical meaning. In this post, I will offer my thoughts on both levels of understanding as they relate to education reform - or altering behavior in any aspect of our lives.

The initial humor is found is the obvious fact that ducks fly, but for some reason or another, this particular brace (look it up) has not yet lifted its wings to the air, so to speak.

Here, Bugs Bunny offers up a cruel bit of irony, at least where Daffy Duck is concerned. In order to save himself from disaster, all the duck has to do is flap his wings, or take advantage of his natural abilities. But he doesn't.

So too, we laugh at the blatant irony of the lead duck looking up at his peers with the sudden epiphany that they too could fly. In educational terms, it is similar to a student (or teacher) who observes his own peers completing any certain action and then thinks, I can do that too. Before long they are simply soaring.

Sometimes all it takes to leverage change is for an interested party - often it is an impressionable child or teenager, but it can be an adult as well - to closely observe the behavior of others and then mimic it. While it is not always that simple in actuality, many behaviors (movements, actions, procedures) can be reproduced on the basis of mental images  - let's call them mind-made movies - alone.

In his book entitled The Inner Game of Tennis, tennis pro Timothy Gallwey speaks of the battle between Self 1, our mind and ego, and Self 2, the part inside of us all that knows what to do if not interrupted by the conscious brain.

Gallwey explains his theory in the context of a tennis lesson he once gave: 

"My next lesson that day was with a beginner named Paul who had never held a racket. I was determined to show him how to play using as few instructions as possible; I'd try to keep his mind uncluttered and see if it made a difference. So I started by telling Paul I was trying something new. I was going to skip entirely my usual explanations to beginning players about the proper grip, stroke and footwork for the basic forehand.

"Instead, I was going to hit ten forehands myself, and I wanted him to watch carefully, not thinking about what I was doing, but simply trying to grasp a visual image of the forehand. He was to repeat the image in his mind several times and then just let his body imitate. After I had hit ten forehands, Paul imagined himself doing the same. Then, as I put the racket into his hand, sliding it into the correct grip, he said to me, "I noticed that the first thing you did was to move your feet." I replied with a noncommittal grunt and asked him to let his body imitate the forehand as well as it could.

"He dropped the ball, took a perfect backswing, swung forward, racket level, and with natural fluidity ended the swing at shoulder height, perfect for his first attempt! But wait, his feet; they hadn't moved an inch from the perfect ready position he had assumed before taking his racket back. They were nailed to the court. I pointed to them, and Paul said, "Oh yeah, I forgot about them!" The one element of the stroke Paul had tried to remember was the one thing he didn't do! Everything else had been absorbed and reproduced without a word being uttered or an instruction being given!"

Most of us self-identify as being visual learners, and this anecdote fully supports that idea. Our students and teaching peers can and do learn so much by closely watching those around them. I imagine that these ducks will be joining their brethren in the sky in no time...as long as no one intercedes and tells them they cannot or should not be doing so. Or worse yet, over-instructs to the point of confusion and discontent between Self 1 and Self 2.

Gallwey put it this way:

"...it is the constant "thinking" activity of Self 1, the ego-mind, which causes interference with the natural doing processes of Self 2. Harmony between the two selves exists when the mind itself is quiet. Only when the mind is still is one's peak performance reached."

While I do not know if anyone told these ducks to walk south instead of fly, it appears that their minds were indeed getting in the way. The old adage, "Spread your wings and fly," is more truth than fiction, at least in a philosophical sense.

How many children enter Kindergarten having been told over and over to not do this or to stop doing that? And once they gain entrance to the school walls do they not still hear the same tone on a daily basis?

Ask a duck. He knows the answer.

If a child wants to experiment with something new, whether it is a new piece of technology or simply a new way of completing a task, is she honestly given the freedom to do so? Educators preach ingenuity and creativity, but how many of us are actually willing to not just lighten up on the reigns, but to take off the halter all together?

Furthermore, how willing are we as educators to model the same kind of behavior by integrating something new into our respective classrooms? Technology. Behavior Management. Student Engagement.

If you think of the flying V formation as a peer you respect and admire - and yourself as a ground-bound duck - does it seem silly to you to NOT try and reach for higher climes? Of course we would make an attempt.

The capacity to excel exists in all of us  - even as most of us will never become as talented as Serena Williams or Roger Federer are at tennis. We do not all have to be given teacher-of-the-year awards to be considered great. But like hitting 9 out of 10 balls in the court is amazing, so to is believing in the children we teach.

You can learn a lot from a duck. #EdTech #EdChat #EdReform (Stay tuned for the next @edtechmaniacs post.) pic.twitter.com/fa9DIFTpFb

— Darin Anderson (@coachdarin22) July 31, 2015

Lessons in Education, Featuring Gary Larson: Part I

By EdTechManiac, Darin Anderson

If we look hard enough, there are lessons about educational philosophy everywhere. One such place just happens to be the mind of famous cartoonist Gary Larson, author of The Far Side. His comic strip is at once irreverent, deep, and outrageously funny. And stock for points to ponder as we approach yet another school year.

There is an ages old activity that takes place in many classrooms across the country called Forced Association. Over a series of posts, we will use that strategy and examine a few of Larson's cartoons and discuss the themes, morals, and allusions contained therein.

Without further ado, here is installment No. 1 of Lessons in Education, featuring Gary Larson:

On the surface, this single frame comic tells the tale of a dog who puts in a subpar effort mowing his master's front lawn. While we find humor in the man ridiculously scolding his dog for a poor lawncare performance, if we stop to ponder its significance we find even more ironic laughter.

After all, if our dog could start the mower and exhibit success in pushing it across the grass, would we not be overly ecstatic? With a little training, Fido could be trained to produce finely manicured lawns all around town, pulling in a boatload of extra income. Not to mention the appearances on Oprah. And the reality TV show. And the book tour. And the blockbuster mov...

Oh, sorry, I got off track there. Back to Fido and the lesson he can teach us about education (or any other venture, for that matter).

Under similar circumstances, what would we prefer the man say to his adventurous dog so obviously full of initiative? (My dog never even offers to lift a finger to help. He just lifts a leg to cause more yardwork for me.)

To put it into an educational perspective, what do we say to a child who was willing to take a risk and try something new, but turned in a mistake-ridden product? Do we scold him and take away recess? Or, even more likely, do we assign a poor score, mark, or grade to him and make no bones about how awful the effort was compared to his peers?

The notion that all students must perform at or near the same levels in order to be "proficient" or "advanced" is a popular one in contemporary education. While I do not fully condemn the philosophy of having benchmarks for kids, I am also a human being who understands that not all students will excel at the same concepts and skills at the same time or in the same way. As much as we may say otherwise, I'm afraid that too many of us are still in the same data-measuring boat.

W. Timothy Gallwey, in his book entitled The Inner Game of Tennis, explains it this way:

"But who said that I am to be measured by how well I do things? In fact, who said that I should be measured at all? Who indeed? What is required to disengage oneself from this trap is a clear knowledge that the value of a human being cannot be measured by performance-or by any other arbitrary measurement. Like Jonathan L. Seagull, are we not an immeasurable energy in the process of manifesting, by degrees, an unlimited potential? Is this not so of every human and perhaps every life form? If so, it doesn't really make sense to measure ourselves in comparison with other immeasurable beings. In fact, we are what we are; we are not how well we happen to perform at a given moment. The grade on a report card may measure an ability in arithmetic, but it doesn't measure the person's value."

I contend that with any educational outpouring, whether it be technology implementation, Common Core Standards instruction, or standards based testing - to name just a few - we too often overlook the fact that our kids can do amazing things, even as they fall short of the arbitrary mark set for them by people who have and will never meet them.

Just as the dog in the comic should be praised for his willingness to take on something new, despite the "poor" outcome (based on whose standards, exactly??) our students must receive the same treatment for stepping beyond the usual.

Educators talk a big game about differentiation, student exploration, and creativity. But do we walk the walk when it comes to lavishing praise on those students who actually put themselves "out there" with a new idea, product, or action - no matter what the result? (The same lesson is true of so many school leaders who squash a teacher's willingness to try to be innovative, all in the interest of "classroom management" or "standards-based instruction.")

It is widely accepted that schools kill creativity in even our brightest youth because we are too busy telling them to mow the grass in nice straight rows, so to speak.

Gallwey sums it up nicely with this golden nugget from his book:

"...I see tennis players every day trying hard to correct their "faulty" games, and they learn at a much slower rate than the player who places his confidence in whatever potential is already within him and then lets it happen."

Remember these words the next time your dog does this:

Would we condemn or praise a student or teacher who takes an educational risk? #edreform #Education #edchat pic.twitter.com/gmwXHDETPA

— Darin Anderson (@coachdarin22) July 30, 2015

Summer Fun and Fall...Boredom? - One Education Reform Topic

To monitor a teacher's Twitter feed during the summer months is to see a steady supply of posts and pictures showcasing himself or herself at locations far and wide participating in conferences, edcamps, and trainings of all shapes and sizes. They are learning new concepts, partaking in motivational keynotes, and collaborating with peers from across town and across the globe.

In short, they are having a ball doing what they love.

What's more, many of these teachers also spend hours with their kids throughout the pivotal mid-year months in what has become a popular way to help close learning gaps and/or provide much-needed exposure to academic content:

Photo: Albuquerque Public Schools

From what I can gather, many of these "summer school" opportunities hold very little resemblance to traditional "school" environments. Since many of the kids involved are what we call "at-risk" students, most of the programs operate under a different vision compared to their September-June counterparts.

Traditional schools spend the fall-spring months talking about engagement and innovation and catering to students' wants and needs; however few of them ever deliver the kind of opportunities that summer programs do.

This begs the question...If the structure of summer programs is engaging and effective, why does school not look that way year round? What is the disconnect?

(Before I get too far, let me address the notion that summer programs close all gaps and level the playing field for all students. Simply put, it is not necessarily true. Researchers have found no definitive correlation between summer learning programs and increased student achievement. As is the case with most learning, it seems, student motivation and high quality instruction are the bedrocks of academic achievement. In other words, good teaching is good teaching and kids who want to learn will do just that.)

This blog post is written to neither support nor condemn summer programs as they affect kids' learning. Rather I am writing it as a way to shed light on a summer philosophy, let's say, that seems to imply that summer learning is fun and innovative, while fall-spring learning is meant to maintain its more traditional structures.

Stop me if you've overheard this at a summer school planning session:

"These kids did not get it the first time, so it's pointless to teach it the same way twice. Let's try reaching them another way."

Therefore summer programs all the way from preschool to fifth-year seniors treat their students to field trips, hands-on projects, live performances, and exposure to resources and software normally unavailable during the normal school year. With grants and funding from federal, state, and local government - as well as generosity from regional and local businesses and corporations - participating students experience a rather posh academic lifestyle for a few weeks out of the summer.

However, when September rolls around again, these same "at-risk and struggling" students are back to sitting in rows being subjected to mind-numbing lectures and grappling with tedious and often pointless worksheets.

To steal a phrase from the classic movie Grease:

Oh, oh those summer school days! (fanpop.com)

"Summer Schoolin'

Had me a blast.

Summer Schoolin'

Happened so fast."

My plea is meant to be added to the chorus of others wishing for a particular aspect of education reform. That is, if innovative and fresh ideas are what the doctor orders for summer school participants, why are similar structures too often met with resistance from teachers and administrators alike?

The means of perpetuating the idea of "cutting-edge" and "Student-Driven" instruction is found amongst the current supply of education buzz words:

Student Voice and Choice

Project-Based Learning

Inquiry Learning

Hands-On Activities

Real World Problems

Creation and Production

Etc

My contention is less about the implementation of these or any other kind of program or learning framework. Rather it is more about the answers to these (and many other) questions:

• If Maker Spaces, for example, are great for kids in summer programs (or after-school environments) why are more districts not taking steps to incorporate them into weekly school schedules?
• Robotics programs (and others like them) are valuable for teaching math and science, along with any number of success skills, but why are they not found as regular options for kids during the school year?
• Summer School students often get to go on relevant field trips as a major portion of their summer learning, but why from September to June does it become problematic to send kids out into locations both local and regional?
• Cross-curricular units are all the rage in summer programs, but once September hits, why do teachers revert back to closed-door, I'm-the-expert proceedings?
• Genius Hour or 20 Time give students free, yet scaffolded time to explore their own interests and passions, but where do those hours (well more than 20%, most will say) go during the school year?

While the answers to these questions will continue to evade some educators, there are select groups across the academic landscape that have found success - at least to some degree - in making them work within whatever confines they operate under. If the issue is time and schedule, there are plenty of institutions that have adjusted and tweaked to make things work. If funding is the hangup, there are plenty of examples of places doing more with less. There is no excuse for writing it off as unfeasible.

Interested parties must continue to keep the conversations alive with administrative personnel, community members, parents, peer teachers, and - most importantly - the kids.

"Summer Schoolin' Had me a blast. Summer Schoolin' Happened so fast." The Ode of ESY kids who lament going back to "old school" #EdChat

— Darin Anderson (@coachdarin22) July 21, 2015

Anti-Social Media: Are You an Offender?

Here's what got me thinking about this:

Recently, Mike & Mike, a highly popular sports radio show on ESPN, announced on Twitter that it is now a full-fledged member of Snapchat.

Guess what? We're now on Snapchat! Add us to see everything you missed from Mike and Mike's night with the @Indians! pic.twitter.com/w86QmHBJhH

— Mike & Mike (@MikeAndMike) July 10, 2015

While this may not seem like a big deal to most folks, the producers of Mike & Mike felt the need to add the show into the increasingly popular social media format. Already boasting a Facebook page and Twitter accounts, it seemed that Mike and Mike either jump into the foray of Snapchat or leave behind an opportunity to connect with an even greater audience.

It is marketing at its best...and it is free.

Take note of just a few popular companies that have taken to social media to shop their wares and services. Here is a short list:

Ummmmm...ALL OF THEM! (Long report, but an interesting skim.)

There is not really a single entity - from Fortune 500 Companies down to the mom-and-pop stores found on Main Street, USA - that does not utilize social media in some way or another.

And yet when students enter classrooms across the country they are directed to turn their phones off. Or they find that social media sights are blocked by the school security firewalls. Or they are told that Tweeting is a waste of time. Or that SM use will put them in danger of being subjected to awful material.

I get the sentiment. Many teachers feel that if students are browsing SM pages or staying busy "liking" stuff, then they are not paying close attention to highly academic lectures on "Past Participles" or the "Endocrine System."

Therein lies one of the most fundamental problems with education. While lecturing is a necessary part of one's academic experience, too many teachers head straight to the podium and neglect the power and benefit of tapping into what is a major chunk of our students' world - social media.

Just like Internet searches, social media can indeed subject our kids to the ills of pornography, indecent language, and objectionable advertisements, but for those of us worried about little Johnny and Suzie seeing something they shouldn't, I argue that that is not enough reason to ditch the SM avenue all together. After all, how many of us still have TVs and computers in our own homes - despite the threat of offensive content entering therein?

iStock Photo

So much of what we teach to our students is available Online in the form of content/concept-related resources, discussions, and other means. As we continue the work to shift education from "Sage-on-the-Stage" to an environment of student examination and discovery, allowing our kids to engage more with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. (while we model the appropriate use of them), social media acts as both the instructor and the "textbook" or our students.

All the while, under direction from knowledgeable teachers and other experts, students are simultaneously learning content and skills while also learning and practicing appropriate digital citizenship, i.e. how to use social media for good and not for nefarious purposes.

It seems that if the companies and businesses that will ultimately employ our students are embracing social media, then so should we as educators of the future workforce. How ironic it is that most school districts have Facebook, Instagram, and/or Twitter accounts to market their own schools, but the kids they serve are not allowed to utilize the sites while in the building!

This must change. And this is our charge:

• Engage our kids in rich discussion with their peers - and "friends" from far away places - via hashtags. #Amazing!
• Teach them how to connect with others from around the world. Who can be the first to get a "follower" from another country?
• Model how to reach out to experts far and wide for advice and resources. Hey, if folks are on Twitter, they want to be reached out to!
• Explain both the advantages and the snares of using social media, especially with younger students. #nevergivepersonalinformation
• Show them (or have them show you) how to publish content on SM and how to market themselves to mass audiences. How is THAT for an authentic academic experience??
• Model digital responsibility and monitor students' academic activity to ensure their safety. Garbage is everywhere, but we can avoid it with simple strategies.
• Embrace the fact that teachers are no longer the sole source of information. Rather guide your students to consume and create properly and effectively.

An ISTE 2015 Ignite Session presenter had this to say about the way we educate students:

Old Projector without a Twitter Page

"What are the contents of their backpacks today compared to years past?"

To be sure, handing our kids a textbook that is at once outdated and irrelevant, is akin to us receiving a projector reel to show film strips to our classes. Who among us would stoop to such levels? (But hey! it worked for our moms and dads, right?)

While taking the leap towards allowing - encouraging - social media use in your classroom might be a major professional risk, the benefits of structured SM activity in your classroom far outweigh the potential damage.

Plus your kids will love it.

#SWAG

— Darin Anderson (@coachdarin22) July 10, 2015

Follow me for more practical instructional technology advice.

A Story of Assessment and Evidence: NBA Edition

Stop me if you've heard this one:

Two teachers walk into a school, and the principal asks them where their student data is.

___________________________________________________________________

Let's face it. As educators we live in an assessment-heavy, data-driven world governed by the results-indicator division of academic law enforcement (legislation). There is no way to escape without measuring our students with some form of data or another. However, while I understand the necessities of curating and monitoring students numerically, there are more ways to gather meaningful evidence than simply giving our kids "common" assessments and sharing spreadsheets with one another at staff meetings.

Let me put it to you this way, in the language of the National Basketball Association:

In 1984, the Chicago Bulls drafted Michael Jordan, who went on to become arguably the greatest player in the history of professional basketball. Jordan's 6 World Championships, 5 league MVP awards, 6 NBA Finals MVP awards, 3 All-Star Game MVP trophies, and 2 Olympic gold medals make him every bit the part of a high school valedictorian. In comparing His Airness to a student, Jordan's "academic" record would make him the model pupil who aced every test given him and graduated with high honors.

Now compare Jordan to two other former NBA players also selected in the 1984 NBA Draft - one named Sam Bowie and the other Landcaster Gordon. Bowie, a 7-1 skyscraper, had a stellar basketball career at the University of Kentucky, while Gordon, a 6-3 guard, starred at Louisville. However, neither of them has the same NBA portfolio as does Michael Jordan (see below). Given that their college "evidence" was relatively similar (see below) we would assume, given educational analysis, that all three would be relatively successful in the professional ranks.

College Stats - Source: Basketball-Reference.com

NBA Stats - Source: Basketball-Reference.com

Here is the kicker. Bowie was chosen second overall by the Portland Trailblazers, and Gordon went to the Los Angeles Clippers as the eighth overall selection. Jordan - the best player the world has ever seen - was picked third. Bowie has become the punchline of several Jordan jokes while no one really has ever heard of Landcaster Gordon. (And no, it is not this guy to the right.)

The data, in this case, did not tell the entire story.

Granted, selecting players in the NBA draft is no easy science, anymore than that of predicting the academic achievement of students - or what they might accomplish as the venture into the world of employment.

Gordon, #4, never fulfilled
his NBA potential

In the case of Michael Jordan, he was pegged (based largely on data) as a future superstar and lived up to the hype. Bowie, who had impressive numbers as well, was a marginal pro with a lackluster career. Gordon? Well, he was the kid with data-proven "potential" who never quite measured up.

Despite all of the assessment data we gather on our kids, there are obviously several untold stories that combine to make each and every student who they are - individually.

I argue that data - be it from common assessments, standardized testing, or any number of other formats - only tells a part of the story. If college success unilaterally foretold professional achievement, then life would be so much easier for the highly-paid executives, coaches, and players in the NBA. However, like education, success on one assessment (college play) does not mean "proficiency" on another (professional performance).

To help all students complete their own stories, educators need to provide opportunities for them to give performances in the realm of any given content or concept, but on stages of their choosing. Michael Jordan was an amazing basketball player and proved as much against the best the work had to offer. Bowie was also a stellar player, up until he faced the cream of the crop. NBA stardom was just not in his cards. (To be fair, Bowie suffered from foot injuries that were beyond his control and those kept him from reaching his true potential; ultimately, he was never anything more than a serviceable player.)

The point is, each and every college player with aspirations of playing in the NBA is given ample opportunities to show his talents against some of the best prospects in the world. The NBA has a summer league devoted to giving young, unestablished players chances to impress coaches and front office personnel. There is also a developmental league (the NBDL) for not-yet-ready players that serves as the minor league system for major franchises.

Manute Bol was 7-6!

Do we do the same for our kids? If they struggle in one aspect of learning do we write them off as Landcaster Gordons who will never cut it in "real world" environments? Are they cast off from consideration because they do not show the proper "academic" prowess that we'd like to see? Honestly, if Sam Bowie was only 6-7 instead of 7-1, would anyone have paid him any attention? And thus do we intentionally leave kids off "the team" because of what they don't possess?

Give Michael Jordan a basketball and he would absolutely amaze us with his abilities on the court. Put a skateboard under the feet of Tony Hawk and he'd leave us in awe. Place Missy Franklin in a pool and she'd leave us shaking our head in disbelief. Hand a mic to Aretha Franklin and be prepared for an all-out show. Conversely, if we gave them all a standardized test, would we be equally as satisfied?

Aside from the obvious and mandated assessment that permeates our academic landscape, look to find other ways for kids to truly show what they know. Here are just a few tips:

• Student-made videos: These creations can let student personality and ability shine through. Upload to YouTube or share with social media.
• Video game creations: Programs like Minecraft have become viable avenues to let students create and explore ideas. Another example of letting them use the tools they already have.
• Cartoons and animation: From the advanced (Scratch) to the intermediate (PowToon) to the basic (Google Slides), students can tell a story in so many different ways. Let them do it in their own way.
• 3D modeling: Tinkercad is just one way kids can create any 3D image imaginable. It's great for learning math and science especially, but works with any content. Integrates with 3D printers perfectly.
• Interactive whiteboards: Apps like Explain Everything allow kids to talk their way through concepts and knowledge without the nervousness of speaking in front of the class.
• Music, poetry, and other forms of art: These modes of expression are so much of our students' world right now. Let our kids be artistic and creative and fresh. Even the most timid personalities will bloom.
• App creation: There are several free programs that provide app creation services - everything from basic features to advanced functions.
• Ask the students: It might surprise us adults to know that our kids do possess actual talents and abilities that do not fit into the traditional mold of academia. Let that archaic philosophy go. After all, we are preparing them for THEIR world, not OURS. Sure, we know how to excel in today's world, but don't we go about our lives differently than our parents and grandparents did?
• Genius Hour: Set aside a few hours a month for kids to explore and do what they want. The results from GHs are astounding.
• It is no excuse that WE don't know all about these options. What's more, it is unacceptable if our students do not know about them. We are doing our kids a disservice - academic malpractice even - if we do not expose them to these options and let them explore and create.

Think about this:

What will be the basketball...the skateboard...the microphone...the computer program...that turns your kids into Michael, Tony, Aretha, or Mark.

What will they do to complete their story?

Will we let them?

Follow us on Twitter for more EdTech integration tips and ideas. Also follow Maniac Darin Anderson.

ISTE 2015 Minis: Moving with Augmented Reality

The annual ISTE conference is always sure to deliver, and this year's version, which just wrapped up in Philadelphia, provided a much-needed spark to keep teachers and students alike on the tech move.

A series of Tweets from ISTE attendees says it all:

Sitting is the new smoking... Let that sink in. Phew. #AugmentedReality @jpk38 #ISTE2015

— Jennifer Weaver (@Jennzer) July 1, 2015

Tech that makes you sit, still not helping. Use tech to engage,not as behaviour management. #iste2015

— James Kapptie (@jpk38) July 1, 2015

#sittingisthenewsmoking. If tech makes our kids sit, what is the point? @jpk38 love this - the aussies are onto something. #ISTE2015

— Ashley Brown (@a_teachertechie) July 1, 2015

These are just a few of the many ISTE2015 posts alluding to the effective combination of technology and movement for our students. It came on the heels of a mass "field trip" that saw dozens of educators from across the country use Augmented Reality to experience downtown Philadelphia in a new and intriguing way.

Let the walking tour start on a escalator. #ISTE02015 pic.twitter.com/HAXbzMtlo6

— James Kapptie (@jpk38) July 1, 2015

Creating our own Auras on the AR Philly tour. #ISTE2015 pic.twitter.com/sVm5L2PmxB

— Lachelle Brant (@LachelleBrant) July 1, 2015

Rather than simply viewing historical sights via social media posts and Google Maps submissions, for example (which are very good ideas, in and of themselves), we must integrate movement into the lessons we teach.

Here are a few suggestions:

• AR Scavenger hunt for pictures or items across campus. Nearly any static object can serve as a trigger image for the variety of AR programs on the market.
• Place AR-enabled images throughout your classroom for gallery walks. Even movement within the room is better than sitting still for long periods of time.
• Use AR for student presentations. Instead of everyone sitting through multiple days of one-at-a-time presentations, use AR programs to embed student presentations into images. Shuffling kids through presentations in a gallery walk structure saves valuable instruction time.

• Apps like Google Camera and Google Photo Sphere allow users to take 360 degree photos of any location. Letting students view these "Spheres" from a directional standpoint - outside where they can "see" the Grand Canyon in relation to their own surroundings - is almost as authentic as being there in person.

Enjoy a full sphere of Downtown Philadelphia

• Download the following apps for AR experiences: Aurasma, Daqri, Quiver, and others.
• Daqri has a special surprise when students (and teachers) lock into their variety of apps and products. Viewers will especially like Elements 4D and Anatomy 4D. Trust me, you'll want to see this! 

Combining even minimal movement with lesson content has long been shown to be beneficial for students of all ages. From brain breaks to full-on integrated physical activity, getting our kids up and moving is the way to go.

With the technology available to us at little to no cost, it seems imperative that we give our kids a break from the monotony of traditional classroom procedures that fail to excite them on a widespread scale.

AR Technology and Movement - seems like a match made in Heaven!