Tips from my Friends (Facebook Friends)

For this assignment I reached out to my PLN. One of my favorite resources is a Facebook Group run by Brittny Washburn. Whenever I have a technology question or want to learn something new, this is my go to group.

I posted the following questions:
1. What technology are you using (iPads, Chromebooks, something else)?
2. How do you decide what tools to use with your students?
3. What obstacles did you encounter with either admin or IT in using technology with your classes? 4. What advice would you give to a teacher seeking to replicate your innovative tech projects?
5. What is one project you are especially proud of?

Three people were gracious enough to respond to my questions and entertain follow ups. They are all technology teachers, so I was excited to hear about the process in their classrooms. Technology wise, none of them are iPad schools. One uses Chromebooks the other two use windows desktops.

The decisions regarding what tools would be used were guided by several factors. Not surprising, was that money was a driving force. Free apps and websites, were highly sought after. The second factor was collaborating with other teachers. It is nice to see teams working together in the decision making process.

Several factors impacted the way that technology was used and had the potential to derail the process, but these determined technology teachers did not let that get in the way. Again, one main obstacle is funding. Second, is that the IT department needs to be involved. Working in a district, does mean that there a more hoops than necessary to jump through to get things done. IT won’t touch anything without a ticket.

The advice they gave was to set hard deadlines or else the kids will work forever. Which on one hand is nice to hear, that means they like what they are doing. On the other makes complete sense. Especially, when there are so many fun projects to get to. The second tip was to be flexible. As technology becomes more ingrained into our daily teaching, we can sometimes get lost when something glitches or the wifi goes down. The last tip, was a repeating theme: FAIL: first attempt in learning. Don’t be afraid to fail. Just try. THis is a guiding principle of mine since I started using technology. I also like to have the kids become the experts. They love teaching their teacher how to do something.

Lastly, I asked them to share a successful project. It is great to see how far we have come in education. Students are getting to experience 3D printing, robotics, stop motion….and all before they hit Middle School. One teacher mentioned how technology has allowed her students to collaborate. I know that I loved seeing how a student could excel at coding, but was below grade level in reading in math. Coding allowed this child to be successful at something and provided him with great pride. 

Thanks to the three women who answered my questions: Ann Carstens, Patty Paxton, and Rachel McTier. If you want to join a great technology group on Facebook, head on over to Technology Teacher Tribe with Brittany Washburn.