Taking My First Action Step with @Anchor

In my last post, I shared how I reached a standstill in my digital journey as an educator. Therefore, I listed some steps I'd like to take as a connected educator. (If you'd like to know more about "Action Steps," check out David Allen's Getting Things Done.) If one didn't notice, most of what I listed included methods that I myself could go beyond understanding/applying and move on to creating. Since then, a couple action steps have happened in ways I hadn't expected. I am excited(!), to say the least.

One that I've picked up on is a free podcasting app called Anchor where podcasts are able to be recorded and edited on-the-spot on your phone and can disappear after 24 hours if you so desire. But there's so much more to it! (I highly recommend you check out the site and app.) 

https://anchor.fm

Blogging with written words can be easier and safer than being part of different kinds of multimedia and social media production and interaction. Also, if I'm wanting my students to curate, design, make mistakes, and produce, then I should be an example. I got hooked on Anchor after a couple related events sparked my curiosity in various outlets as well as inspired me with the courage to go beyond my fears of being heard or seen within media. 

1) Don Wettrick, the transparent multimedia produced in his Innovation Class, and his StartEdUp podcast have encouraged me to be more open, incorporate others' voices, and move forward with telling one's story. After that, even going so as far as interacting on those platforms and being vulnerable in discussions of how to improve blows my mind. My brain is on rapid-fire when considering how to do this in China.

2) Malcolm Gladwell's Revisionist History podcast. Before this though came an insight from Gladwell when inquired on why he was starting a podcast. "You think with your eyes and feel with your ears." Upon hearing that, I started a station on Anchor and quickly discovered how monotonous my voice was. It was then that it clicked in my head...I can express my passion, tones, and more through a podcast. Why was I limiting myself? Gladwell certainly doesn't. I get chills while still thinking and processing what I had just listened to. (How much I want for similar situations to have my listeners experience when contemplating education!)

anchor.fm/forthestudents

Starting off, there have been learning curves for sure. Nonetheless, it has been and will be worth it.

If you would like to listen to my For the Students Anchor podcast, check it out here, Favorite it, Share it, and let me know what questions and thoughts you have. Thanks!

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Next Steps for a Connected Educator

Though I’ve been connected on social media for a few years, I feel like there should be more to the network, the community, the redefinition of it…all of this has made me think about the next steps I could should take when utilizing it as well as technology and the place they have within the innovation I myself as a person and teacher should strive for.

To be honest, when it comes to social media, I’ve already started to utilize Feedly, Pinterest, Evernote, and Twitter into my own personal methods of professional development and collaboration (though Evernote is on its last leg). Feedly came within the last couple months off of a recommendation from Steven Anderson since I couldn’t find a quality app for Blogger on the App Store. I initially didn’t join Pinterest because I used to think it was only for recipes, decoration ideas, and wedding planning. Little did I know with such a naïve mind. It’s great for curating content while Evernote allows me to save the article then and there in various ways. (Side notes: Pinterest is now blocked in China as of a few weeks ago, Evernote is in Chinese on the local internet, and Twitter has been game-changing. Who would have thought any of those would have happened?)

What I have found is that simply joining these platforms is not enough in itself. Lurking is a decent first step, but to move forward one must learn how to partake, collaborate, and create when ready. Therefore, I joined ISTE’s #ETCoaches / Blogging Buddies a month or so back to obtain more interaction and communal growth. I would also like to start utilizing YouTube and possibly YouKu (China’s YouTube) more often along with the inclusion of more multimedia than just simply pictures within posts/sharing. Then there's live-streaming, whether it be Periscope or YouTube.

Some of these tools have Chinese versions (in-app or on the website), which I always check when browsing the App Store or web. It’s also been vital to check the Chinese App Store since there are some apps present or missing when compared to the American one.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25275534@N00/8631695619

I’ve been using American platforms, but I’d like to take a step with Chinese ones as well. I’m still considering how to do this long-term, and that includes how to get the most out of WeChat, QQ, and Weibo (China’s Twitter). WeChat is the big one here, and it very well may have an effect on your internet. With that said, I don’t want to keep switching between what kind of internet or which social media I use because the students and colleagues I interact with on a daily basis usually surf a different one from the one I’ve been accustomed to. (If only there was a Chinese version of Buffer.)

How should I go about this? Which steps would you suggest or take in this situation?

What steps can you take to go outside your comfort zone and move forward in your journey as a connected educator?

Photo Credits: ePublicist

My Tech and Digital Journey as an Educator

When I think back on my tech/digital journey as a teacher, one word comes to mind.

Worthwhile.

http://tinyurl.com/y8n9ocg3

Though I’ve only been blogging since November 2014 (according to my Blogger history), I’ve read and interacted with educators on other blogs and sites previous to that. I didn’t want to put my words and thoughts on educational matters for the world to see just yet. (Little did I know how important collaboration outside of the walls could be!) Around 2010 or so, I knew there was a divide between what my peers in China and those in America could access. That didn’t play a hand in my waiting until 2014, but I now know that the divide is lessening because of growing ways Chinese locals can access foreign websites. Therefore, I’ve been more cognizant of what I write about because the audience over time has shifted somewhat. It was a global audience, but now it included students, teachers, and educators from places I once considered unlikely to connect with in digital ways.

Certainly, I’m ecstatic to hear and see the use of tools like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat by my students.¹ It helps me hope for a future where the students will not just consume media but will delve into curating information and creating innovative ways to better our world.

One of those ways educators and students worldwide could be doing that is through blogging.

Blogger, Twitter (since 2012), and other social media have been influential for me professionally. The following is a list of some ways they have impacted me (in no particular order, and certainly not limited to):

1) notice blind spots

2) seek others’ perspectives/advice

3) self-examine

4) keep the global community in mind

5) learn of novel topics, ideas, beliefs, or resources

What about you? Tell us about your tech/digital journey as an educator. How has it impacted you? Are you or another educator you know considering learning more about tech? How could sharing our stories shape us within our communities and allow us to move forward together in our honest examination of how we educate?

¹ - It seems students are more into these than those my age, and I still don’t know why. I’m also looking into the “creepy treehouse” and reflecting on if/how it happens here.

photo credit: WanderingtheWorld (www.ChrisFord.com)

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When Should a Student (be Allowed to) Get Facebook?

Two different questions have been on my mind recently.

Firstly…

When should a student get Facebook?

I recall asking my sixth-grade nephew once if he had Facebook. “I don’t need it,” he responded.

That threw me off.

Students at my former school obtained a smartphone and/or an iPad by mid-elementary, and there’s certainly a different age requirement than 13 in China. I say this because a lot of elementary students already have WeChat or QQ (social media platforms with chats, posts, and so much more). I didn’t even stop to consider how one of my 6^th graders recently asked to add me on Facebook. Reflecting on all of that had led me to wrongfully assume that every child I met as young as mid-elementary would desire to connect via social media. Low and behold, every child’s life and context are different. When a child actually wants to get Facebook more than likely varies on lots of factors, many of which we as outsiders to their lives may not know about. (For more on ways we may misunderstand teens and technology, please check out danah boyd’s It’s Complicated.)

I didn’t think of the fact that my nephew was under 13 years old when I asked him either. Thankfully I haven’t met, heard of, or needed to report anyone under 13 using Facebook. This brought me to the following question…

https://goo.gl/images/gdUWnB

When should a student be allowed to get Facebook?

Little did I know about the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), a law passed in 1998 to protect children under 13 from having their personal information available. Thus, Facebook’s age requirement is 13. Most other apps/sites have the same condition while some range lower or higher.

Common Sense Media has much to say about protection and guidelines for social media, along with what is going on at age 13 developmentally. Parents and teachers alike should take heed and stay informed. This will help when striving to understand what pre-teens are going through. It should be strongly suggested for the parent as well to be involved in the child’s life during this time since children lying about how old they are may put peers at risk. (Side note: This would be a great time for adults to also examine our social media habits and behaviors because, as I have discovered in parenting and teaching, I and other adults still have some maturing to do too. Children are NOT alone in this manner.)

All of that makes sense while there are certainly “teachable moments” to be learned earlier in life, including those for a six year-old on Snapchat. But…can not the parent help guide the child in using social media such as Facebook before reaching the age of 13? Can the parent learn from the child? I’m not prompting you to push social media on to your child and lie about his/her age. (There are other ways to justify looking at your phone more than your child.) Don’t misinterpret that. What I’m urging is that we as adults be ready to understand the child, listen to his desires, and most importantly, steer him in the moral way to live before he is 13. The life the child lives offline will undoubtedly determine who he is online.

5 Things to Mull Over Before Integrating Tech in the Classroom

Hearing quite a bit about the SAMR Model recently has really got me thinking. There are several things to consider along with it because the model alone can NOT aid you in deciding what tech are best for your context. But before we dive into those, let’s start with a quick intro of what this model is about.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_SAMR_Model.jpg

The SAMR Model is one of a couple frameworks available to help educators determine the level of integration when utilizing new technology in the classroom. For my own sake, I’ve tended to think as a teacher though I’ve found it helpful to imagine being a school administrator as well. There are levels of integration that may be deemed best by educators, but the reality is that this model is not a one-size-fits-all solution to justifying tech use in the classroom. Let’s examine at least 5 questions that a teacher should ask alongside any model, including SAMR, before integrating tech in the classroom. All of these stem from my research, student interviews, and experiences as an EFL teacher abroad.

1. Where are the students in their personal tech integration?

Imagine teaching students who have historically not been taught at levels where their thinking has been challenged by transformative guidance. Would the students themselves be able to innovate or be okay with copying a worksheet on their iPad? Do the students only take in information without considering how to edit or create new, unheard of things? Do the students know how to connect their use with learning?

2. What is the culture or school culture like in their view of technology?

What is the country’s view on tech in education? How do teachers view technology integration into their teaching and why or why not? What about the school’s perspective? Are there bans on everything and anything? Are any teachers willing to take risks? Do the students hardly use tech at school but then return home and come back to today’s reality? (Side note: I examined this through a Data Story last December on "The Preparation and Integration of Technology in Teaching K-12 in China," which included a focus on Chinese teachers' perspectives of tech and integration.)

3. Is this integration simply for tech’s sake or innovation?

If you haven’t read this blog post by George Couros, do it now please. It’s worth the read. My first two questions indeed lead up to his thoughts, which have fascinating comments and dialogue following.

4. How will you assess your students and not simply your tech integration? What acceptable evidence will you set beforehand during your planning?

This one totally makes sense while I delve into Understanding by Design, Differentiated Instruction, and how the two frameworks can coincide. A tech integration model like SAMR can’t assess a student’s understanding, so acceptable evidence must be decided.

5. Is there research out that already proves non-tech ideas are better than tech-related ones?

Recall any articles about how handwritten notes are better than digital ones? Here’s one, and there’s another. Just Google the debate and research the pros and cons. Now…what other tech-less ways have research behind them? Stay objective, and do keep a balance between pedagogy, technology, and change knowledge.

What other questions would you consider? Let me know, and hopefully we can accumulate a list of at least 19 things to check beforehand. In the words of Luke Neff, “If you put less than 19, then you think surgery is more complicated. More than 19? You think teaching is more complicated. So, shall we say, 19ish items?”

But honestly, don’t be irrational and use tech in your teaching simply because it's cool. It might be better to put on the brakes, slow down, and scrutinize its place. Let the SAMR Model be a possible guide, not your Bible.