Technology is something powerful. The innovative and imaginative experiences that we are able to create today are unlike anything seen in history. Technology by definition gives us the ability to make and modify any object in order to solve a problem, improve an existing solution, or achieve a goal. No one questions the qualitative enhancements of the use of technology, as these results are clear and well documented. Our challenges now are in our ability to achieve these previously inconceivable outcomes in a reasonable period of time. Continue reading
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The Myth of The Magical Device SXSWEdu Panel
Dear Friends –
Social Media is all about giving – Your opinion, thoughts, and even more a helping hand. As Educators helping is part of our genetic makeup. It is in that spirit that I have teamed up with two stellar educators, Sabba Quidwai and Carl Hooker to share our unique approaches to breaking down the barriers of technology use so that it can truly empower our students, and us as educators.
Please take the time to vote for our panel. I am asking a lot, since you need to create an account to vote, but your vote will give us a voice and in the end students around the world a greater chance for their voices to be heard.
Click the Photo
The Myth of The Magical Device
It’s part of the human condition to want to share. – Paulo Coelho
I have followed the SXSWEdu hashtag for a number of years and I am always amazed at the powerful ideas shared at this conference. This year has been big for me professionally, and I have had some amazing opportunities to present at some great conferences. Somehow these experiences put some crazy into my head that I might just be ready for something like SXSWEdu. Fortunately for me I have teamed up with two amazing colleagues, Sabba Quidwai (@AskMsQ) and Carl Hooker (@MrHooker), to propose a #SXSWEdu Panel. Together we cover the entire spectrum of Kindergarten through Higher Ed and are doing some amazing and unique things all under a very similar vision which is:
The Myth of The Magical Device
Here is our Mythical Trailer…
The Panel Picking will shortly ensue so as we say in Jewish circles, “L’Chaim!” (To Life!) and Success!
So A Rabbi Walks Into iPadpalooza… And It Was Awesome.
A few months ago I got a message from Carl Hooker inviting me to come to iPadpalooza. Thinking he wanted me to come experience first hand all the awesome things I had heard about the Austin based Educational Technology conference, I regretfully decline due to lack of funds. When he clarified that he wanted me to be a featured speaker it still wasn’t registering.
What kind of educational vision can a Chassidic Orthodox Rabbi, albeit an educator share?
Now I am no stranger to conferences or presenting, but this was the first time that it wasn’t me submitting a presentation proposal but instead being asked to come share my ideas. I have to admit, that while it was exhilarating and humbling, it was all together nerve racking as well.
Now, I have a vision, I have an approach, and I think that both are concrete and practical outlooks on how we use technology to support our learning.
This Invisible iPad approach is something worth sharing I thought to myself, and thank G-d I am getting a chance to share it with the world besides my colleagues and my wife.
So off to Austin! Plane ride, Lyft ride, Sheraton Downtown, Uber ride, Check in, and I am sitting in Adam Bellows keynote.
Now I am not one to “celebritize” educators. I think it does a disservice to education and to educators to put these type of visionaries and their approaches on an unreachable pedestal. With that said, there are some seriously awesome innovative educators in our global learning community. I have been actively following the work of Adam for almost four years now (ever since that ISTE closing keynote) and he is without question a huge inspiration. So as I am sitting through his awesome opening keynote, I am inspired, excited, and at the same time I am thinking…
How can we all speak this language and focus on learning with technology and not learning technology
In the end I think I made an impact. I hope my ideas were food for thought for more than just an inspiring hour conversation but something that will help those educators present think differently about why and how we use technology. It didn’t hurt that the tap on my shoulder on the shuttle to day two of the conference was Adam Bellow himself introducing himself and starting up a conversation with me.
Outside of presenting, I was anticipating connecting with some awesome educators. Connecting on Twitter is great, but its really fulfilling to have those types of conversations face to face not limited by 140 characters. It was great to meet the educators below and have real conversations about how we as educators can truly change the world. Really.
the list goes on. I should simply list every presenter but the above group was something special for me. There are those who simply inspired me, got me thinking, questioning how we define innovation, or even harder, to question if our outlook is really all that innovative. Then there was the Green Room where the connection was on a more informal level.
On Day Two, I was honored with being part of an amazing group of educators for one of the conference keynotes. Michelle Cordy has created an amazing SketchNote + ThingLink mashup that captures the awesomeness of everyones presentation.
I have been to many conferences, and they all have something amazing about them. Still, there was something unique, personal, and energizing about iPadpalooza. It is without question the most meaningful conference I have been part of to date. Cant wait for iPadpalooza 2016 and the opportunity to be apart of it again.
Collaboration Vs. Cooperation
Courtesy of: Ecoblender.org
Collaboration is closely connected to the access of knowledge. My educational experience required me to rely solely on my teacher and an outdated textbook. Collaboration was limited to “working together” to complete a predefined task with a singular outcome. In today’s world the entire scope of human knowledge fits in your pocket and the hierarchical control of knowledge erodes daily. No longer is expertise defined by anything more than a desire to share, and a medium to share it in. The challenge now is how to filter, analyze, validate, and make use of mass-information. This is one of the reasons developing collaborative skills is so critical for our students. We sometimes confuse cooperation, working together side by side with collaboration. I asked a group of 4th graders this week what the difference was. One student responded that,
“Cooperation is when we get along, collaboration is when we use our uniqueness to make something great.”
Wikipedia, Mobile Technology, and Social Media have shifted how we share, work together, and help one another. These examples are something that simply did not exist while I was growing up. While it is important for young children to develop their individuality and independence, their careers will most likely be highly collaborative experiences with very few essays, and minimal multiple choice exams.
Applying to Become Apple Distinguished Educator
Want to dig deep? Try sharing your entire educational journey, experiences, and impact in two minutes. No, not two minutes and one second, two minutes flat. As an educator, I feel I am always telling a story. The scenes, vantage point, and even characters might change, but I always find myself telling a tale to help people better connect with knowledge in a significant and meaningful way. Its important for me as an educator to know that building that connection not only helps me teach others, but it helps others teach me. This is why I hold dear the proverb that says,
“Who is wise? He who learns from all people, as it is said: ‘From all those who taught me I gained understanding'”
While the actually process of compiling the video lasted only a week, the inner core of the video is really thirty years in a making. I am not trying to be nostalgic here, but if I told my kindergarten teacher, my high school guidance counselor, or even my college intro art professor that I am applying to become an Apple Distinguished Educator, finishing my M.S.Ed, and became a Rabbi, they would all think I am either insane, or that they are. It does show you how amazing the journey of life is that through these experiences, our values, purpose, and driving force can change, develop, and simply rocket to the moon.
Since a picture is worth a thousands words, I present my video application to the 2015 Apple Distinguished Educator Program.
Mirror your iPad to Macbook Without WiFi
Today I led a workshop on effective technology use. As I tried to AirPlay my iPad to my Macbook I realized that more so than the technology being effective, we as teachers need to be effective. If technology does not work the first time many teachers find themselves at a crossroads. Route one leads to total tech abandonment, and the other leads to a land of embracing failure, learning from mistakes, and becomes a stronger educator, and really a stronger person. Thank G-d for me I am also really quick on my feet. After throwing around the joke about keeping calm when tech doesn’t work I was able to successful execute a great little trick that I heard about somewhere on the internet.
iOS 8 lets you mirror your iPad via Quicktime and a lightning cable when there is no WiFi.
This is a huge development for many different reasons. First it saves you from the above scenario when you need to mirror but there is no WiFi. Second, it allows you now to screencast your iPad screen to create demos and tutorials without any lag. The only drawback is that it will not play audio through your Macbook speakers (unless someone can show me how).
Step 1:
Plug in your iPad via Lightning to USB
Step 2:
Close out iPhoto if it autoruns and Open Quicktime
Step 3:
Right click on Quicktime and select “New Movie Recording”
Step 4:
Click on the drop down arrow next to the Record Button and select your iPad for camera but keep the Microphone set to your Macbook if you are doing recording.
Step 5:
Enjoy!!
The Top 10 iPad Features That Schools Forget
Amazing list of simple yet powerful ways to use the iPad! Awesome list!
With iPads, it’s all about the apps, and rightly so sometimes, but not everyone takes full advantage of the native features that Apple builds in to the iPad software for everyone to use. So, for this post I am rounding up ten of the most forgotten iPad features that are awesome for education. No additional apps are required to use any of these features because they work right out of the box.
1. Visual Timer – The Clock app often gets buried in a folder deep among some other apps that you don’t use very much, but if you are looking for a good visual timer, you should look for the Clock app. Just open the Clock app, and tap Timer. You can even choose from a variety of tones to mark the end of your timer. While you are here, take a look at the stopwatch with lap timers…
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A Historical Approach to the Invisible iPad
I am honored and excited to run a guest post by Ilana Zadok, a colleague, and a talented and innovative educator. Ilana and I have worked over the past two years on a project that supports student led learning of the Revolutionary War. Without further adieu, enjoy the article.
by: Ilana Zadok, 8th Grade Educator
Gone are the days of teachers at the front of the room telling students which pages to flip in the History textbook for the sake of memorizing dates and facts.
Here are the days of the teacher facilitating learning as students conduct independent research to become mini experts on a topic and then collaborating grade-wide to create a digital book using the app Book Creator.
After receiving mini lessons on research, newspaper article writing and design and layout 8th graders set out on a month long journey to learn and discover the events leading up to and including Revolutionary War. This wasn’t an iPad lesson to enhance a unit.
This was a project that through the use of technology supported learning by the students for the students.
Let me explain.
The timeline was divided and each pairing of students chose an event. They were responsible for researching their event taking into account the various perspectives of the time and referencing authentic primary sources-this is in line with the Historical Thinking methodology of teaching History which is the backbone of this class.
Each group was responsible for the creation of a 7-9 page digital book using the app Book Creator which included:
- 2 student written newspaper articles highlighting two different points of view. For example, one article was from the British perspective while the other was from the Patriot perspective.
- 1 image per page
- 2 uses of original audio
- 2 original videos
- A 5 question assessment which matched the creators goals for understanding
- A design and layout that stayed true to the time period and considered the emotions being evoked in the content.
Students were encouraged to make very thoughtful choices as to how the various parts worked to enhance their overall message. They understood that each piece had to serve a certain purpose. They were pushed to articulate what that purpose was.
After 1 week of research and 2 weeks of creation, the students were ready to combine their books.
For the next few days, each student individually with headphones in their ears focussed and interested read through the digital book created by their peers.
In order to hold the students accountable for the content, each student wrote 3 level 3 QAR (Question-Answer Relationship) questions for each mini book in which they had to show that they were thinking about the text.
The students then began the process of reflection in which they gave feedback to their peers for each book in regards to design, layout and content thoroughness.
Lastly, they wrote paragraphs assessing how the process of using Book Creator impacted their own personal learning.
This unit was a success! Book Creator allowed the students the room and flexibility to bring their interests and talents to the table. One student used an animation app to fulfill the video requirement, where another student created a piece of music to fulfill the audio requirement. They extended their research to learn about the clothing, food, and more. They were able to give each other compliments and constructive criticism that was based on the language used in the mini lessons. And, they showed content knowledge.
To highlight the success, here are two of my favorite anecdotes:
One student asked if I’d consider offering the combined book to next year’s class as their textbook. That showed me that he had such pride in his work and felt that the quality was worthy of substituting other resources.
But my ultimate measure of success was a shy boy who struggles to learn came over to me weeks after the completion of the project to thank me for the experience of creating the iBook. He said that he feels that he really understands the Revolutionary War period because of it.
Thank me for learning??!! Didn’t see that coming.
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