Totally Terrific Integration and Celebration Thursday

Feel like I am on a roll of alliteration:

• Marvelous Monday: A Motley of App Challenges 4 All
• Totally Techucation Tuesday
• Totally Terrific Thought Leadership Thursday
• Freebie Friday: 50+ Editable iPad Graphic Organizers and Project Templates

So, no need to break the trend. Working in a 1:1 iPad K-12 school district, technology is beginning to be integrated seamlessly within the classroom as we have 24/7 access to a device and do not need to schedule computer lab time. Whether a school has access to a 1:1, BYOD, or designated lab space, technology infused projects should be aligned to pedagogical best practices, curriculum, and standards. One district has begun aligning these projects to our state technology standards.

Threading Technology Within the Standards

Laura Moore, a former colleague of mine and current member of my PLN, shared a handful of truly terrific and thorough lesson ideas using open-ended technology tools and apps that met both state content and technology standards. Most of us know that we are integrating these standards but actually aligning and stating the standards is truly a best practice.

Tailoring Technology Integration

While the SBEC standards are specific to our Texas teachers, I think using the ISTE NETS should be a best practice to assessing student products and teaching strategies when integrating technology in to curriculum:

• ISTE Standards for Student Resources
• ISTE Standards for Teacher Resources

On that same note, 4th grade NEISD Miss Kelly Richter shared her spin on a terrific student-created Thinglink that was aligned to the standard Laura featured in her post.

All of the projects are posted on her class Thinglink page.

So let’s take this technology integration and showcase one step further…

“I really want to share with our community the great educational experiences their children are having with technology and learning in our school. A 1:1 iPad program is a huge community investment and if parents are educated about the use of technology in their students’ classrooms, they are more apt to supporting the initiative because they truly understand how they are being used as a tool for their students’ learning.” – Marianna Husain

Thoughtful Showcase and Celebration of Technology Integration

I have to say Marianna Husain takes a truly thoughtful app-roach to celebrating and showcasing technology integration on her campus. Not only does she blog about the lesson and share samples and digital artifacts, she gets the students and parents involved.

“As a parent of a kindergartner at my school, I thought about how lucky I was to be so connected to our school because if I relied solely on my 5 year old telling me about his day, I might not have any idea what was going on. The cafeteria stamps kids’ hands to let them know about lunch account balances, so why not a sticker about a project on a blog?” – Marianna Husain

How does she do it?, you inquire. Marianna created a sticker that each student in the class that was featured on the blog would wear home that day as a talking point for parents. Marianna isn’t quite sure if its pure magic, but I have to say it is sheer genius.

Marianna shared a few advantages of using this app-roach:

• Students: “The kids simply beam at the sticker!”
• Teachers and Parents: “The teachers also email the link to their parents. We have seen more comments from parents on the blog and emails back to teachers about how they have told grandparents and other loved ones about their projects. It makes it so easy just to send a link.”

Tips and Takeaways

So to recap… when planning, preparing, and posting technology-infused student projects, keep these things in mind:

• Have I aligned this project to my content standards?
• Have I aligned this project to the ISTE NETS or state technology standards?
• Have I published student work to create an authentic learning opportunity?
• Have I shared these projects with parents?

FREEBIES and GOODIES OH MY!

TechChef4u now offers a Doc Locker full of freebies and goodies that can be used in the classroom. Lots of resources and templates can be found in the Creatively Productive Digital Downloads Doc Locker. Just sign up using the form below and you will receive an email shortly with a secret link to the site and password to nab your freebies.