Scan It!

Make It Yourself
I wrote about 3D printing in a post titled "Creative Juices" quite awhile ago, here is a few sentences on my view of 3D printing at the time. "Another technology device that I am amazed with is the 3D printer. Maybe it is just a shiny object that is distracting to me personally, but it seems like the device has a tremendous amount of potential to be used in schools. What better way to incorporate essential standards into a project based activity and actually be able to build a product, literally have it appear right in front of you." My views on 3D printing have not changed, but I still haven't found a way to procure a 3D printer for my school district, something I need to work on. Since writing about 3D printers almost two years ago, I have seen 3D printers small enough to fit in a backpack. It is amazing how quickly devices improve and become more economical to produce, but it just keeps getting better.

Digitizer
When I saw the recent unveiling of MakerBot's Digitizer,
I kept saying to myself, it just keeps getting better. My

first thought after watching the demo was, now I will be able to wreck my bicycles, come home, pull up the scan of a not so broken part, print it out and back in business. After thinking about it a bit more, the possibility of using a 3D digitized scan of a stock part and then modifying to my own specifications, truly intrigued me, not to mention making this happen in my garage.    

The Movement
It is technologies like 3D printing and digitizers that keep me thinking about our classrooms and how we are to keep up with the pace that industry moves at. I attended an ISTE session this past summer where Gary Stager was presenting, titled, "The Creative Learning Revolution You Can't Afford to Miss". Gary spoke about the maker movement, and focused on three game changers, fabrication, physical computing and programming. Many of his thoughts speak to the answers that we continually ask about preparing students for today's world and that is allowing students to do things that matter through "making". Digitizers, 3D printing, and other technology I could only dream of as a kid are becoming a reality due to their affordability and can enhance the learning environment. If we want our students to be critical thinkers, creative, and possess 21st century skills, they will need learning experiences that foster this in the classroom. 

Guest Post: How are We Using Technology in Classrooms?

Good People
If you look closely at any successful district, school, or business, you will find that the leader has surrounded themselves with amazing people. Those people are the ones that make things happen on a day to day basis, and without those people, one person alone can not make an organization great.

I am very fortunate to have a great team in place that makes the day to day happen in our district. I learn from them weekly and they make my job an easy one. Among our team members is our district Technology Integration Specialist, Tracy Watanabe. I will always credit her for inspiring me to get in the game and start a blog. I would recommend her blog to any teacher K-12 as she does a great job of breaking down technology integration into easy to understand pieces. I wanted to share one of her recent posts as it is relevant for not only teachers but any educator. You can visit her blog or follow her on twitter. Enjoy!


How are We Using Technology in Classrooms?
Technology has changed how we do things in our daily lives such as shopping, banking, communicating, and it has changed how we should do school.

Photo Credit: Reeding Lessons via Compfight cc

When I was a child, I remember spending so much time going through microfiche to find just the right bit of information to share with the teacher. In those days, finding the right information and recollecting that information was the mark of a good student. 

Today, knowledge and information is at our fingertips. In fact, there is so much information that it's tough to know where to start and what's the best source to use. Therefore, accessing the right information at the right time is more important than just finding information.

Focusing on skills rather than knowledge is a shift in how we do school. It changes what students are taught and how they are taught.

What do these shifts look like in the classroom?
This type of learning is easy to capture because there are artifacts as evidence of learning. I could have gone to any number of AJUSD blogs to look for artifacts, but was able to find a plethora of content to share from Mrs. Hamman's post titled, The End of Another Great Year!

Final thoughts

How we “do school” has changed, and focusing on 21st century learning skills is the shift taking place. We see this shift in the Common Core State Standards, and we see this shift as a necessity to prepare students for college and careers.

Change isn't easy, but it's a necessity. I'm proud of our school district, because we are focused on giving our students 21st century, student-centered classrooms.

• What shifts do you see in how we "do school"?
• Change takes time, and progression occurs one step at a time. What goals have you made to take another step forward this school year?
• What questions or comments do you have regarding this post?

PARCC IT

Next Big Thing? 

Sometimes it is difficult to take the next "big" thing in education seriously. Initiatives seem to come and go and quite often districts take the wait and see approach before making changes and investments. However when it comes to the Common Core State Standards all but a small handful of states have already adopted and begun implementation. Many consortiums and task forces, have been formed to collaborate and support one another with the implementation. So where is the hook into technology? A couple different areas, technology is embedded into the standards themselves and the assessment side of the house, which is what I would like to share a little bit about.

What is PARCC?
PARCC is a consortium made up of 22 states, serving roughly 24 million students. The consortium is funded by a grant provided by the US Department of Education and their task is to develop and design a next-generation assessment system which the common core standards will be tested.

PARCC Vision
PARCC states have committed to building a K-12 assessment system that:

• Builds a pathway to college and career readiness for all students,
• Creates high-quality assessments that measure the full range of the Common Core State Standards,
• Supports educators in the classroom,
• Makes better use of technology in assessments, and
• Advances accountability at all levels.

Listen up Techies! 

The PARCC assessment will be delivered online and the consortium has been busy working on technology guidelines.  For those districts that have robust internet connections and the ability to refresh their computers every three years, the guidelines will probably not cause you alarm. However most districts don't have this luxury and have been very creative over the years with extending the life of their hardware. Another detail to be aware of is you may squeak by with the minimum requirement specifications for the 2014-2015 assessment, will most likely not be compatible for the 2015-2016 version according to the guidelines.  

Still Time

There are still many unanswered questions concerning the timeline, funding sources and some who think the assessment will never become a reality. It is also likely the guidelines will have a few revisions before they are in their final version. Whatever your opinion on the PARCC assessment, this is a good opportunity to take a closer look at networks and devices, and reflect on the experience we are providing our students and teachers.