Technology Integration Specialist Qualities

What qualities do you think a good technology integration specialist should have?

After reading "What makes a good learning technologist?" by Sarah Horrigan
and "What Makes a Good Technology Integration Specialist" by Dana Huff
I pondered what Technology Integration Specialist should be like.  

 2015 .Hautumm, Christian. 'Free Image On Pixabay - Baltic Sea, Sea, Sunset, Sunrise'. Pixabay.com. https://pixabay.com/en/baltic-sea-sea-sunset-sunrise-816303. 24 Aug. 2015.  CC-0

I think a good technology integration specialist bridges the gap between technology and pedagogy.  Most teachers know the teaching techniques and not the technology tools.  A few know the tools, but not the techniques.  A TIS brings the two together.  Here are some of the qualities that I think make a good TIS.

Curious
I hadn't thought of calling it this until I read the blog posts.  This is that constant searching and learning more about applying technology to learning.  New technologies are always being invented or improved.  Also, there are so many current technologies that discovering them is like finding brand new toys.  

Problem Solver
This is related to curiosity, but I would even separate it out.  Once I see a need or problem to solve, I stick with it until I find a solution or alternative.  I got this from troubleshooting computers.  It is a logical process (Google helps a lot, too).  Nothing is more frustrating for a teacher than when a technology tool they try out does work.  For newbies, this is their greatest fear.  Sometimes it is a simple fix, and TISs need to able find those quick fixes before calling IT.  Fixing a problem quickly can help get back on track a teacher's attempt at using something new.

Playful
I like the playful label.  It is another outgrowth of curiosity.  We should encourage others to play with a technology at home before they try it out in the classroom.  If they are able to learn how to use a technology tool like Google Keep or Onenote in their personal lives, they will become familiar with how it works and often see how their students can use it in the classroom.  Newbies are often afraid of breaking something because they are so unfamiliar with the technology, but playing around with it means that no harm is done if something does go wrong.
The TIS loves to play with the technology.  In doing so, he or she learns how to use it.  Once we learn how to use it, we can show it to others so they can play, too.

Perpetual Learner
This is the outgrowth of curiosity.  This is putting the discovery into action.  Teaching yourself new skills takes work, but is ultimately rewarding.  Just-in-time learning is the most relevant, useful, and long-lasting learning you can do.  You can learn how to do almost anything from Youtube.  This summer I learned from youtube how to winterize and de-winterize my lawn sprinkler.  You have to be proactive and go out and find those opportunities to learn.  

Connected
This is the "how" for a perpetual learner.  The days when teachers closed the door to their classrooms and just taught by themselves are gone.  Today, teachers are constantly collaborating formally and informally. In the internet age, that collaboration extends beyond the walls of the school.  Now, connected teachers use Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, Facebook, blogs, and podcasts to learn from and grow with each other.  The TIS has to be a part of that community.  My professional learning network it on Twitter and Google+.  I find my new tools by following brilliant educators from around the world sharing links to their new discoveries.  They I try to give back to the community by sharing out my own discoveries. David Weinberger in his book Too Big To Know said "the smartest person in the room is the room," meaning that you can learn more from everyone sharing their collective knowledge and experiences about a topic than just learning from the smartest person in the room.  The online room is now the world. 

Passionate
This is the "why" for a perpetual learner.  We seek out new technologies because we love it.  Passion this gives fire to presentations about educational technology.  It inspires other to try these new tools.  It creates enthusiasm in others.  It draws people out of their trepidation and into their new, uncharted technological waters.

So becoming a Technology Integration Specialist starts with curiosity and ends passion for bringing new technologies into a classroom. 

Can Technology be a Bad Thing?

• In 2015, why is technology still a class kids go to to learn to use a tool and not an integrated part of the lessons we teach?

It's easier.  Some teachers can't sing, so they send their students to Music.  Some teachers aren't artistic, so they send them to Art.  Some teacher aren't athletic, so they send them to PE.  Some teachers aren't techie, so they send them to the Pencil Lab...err...I mean the Computer Lab.  This way they don't have to learn music, art, exercise, or that new-fangled technology.  Let someone else teach it outside their classroom.  They just don't have time.  

Mark, David. (2014). 'Language Lab, College, University - Free Image On Pixabay'. Pixabay.com. https://pixabay.com/en/language-lab-college-university-181083/. 21 July 2015.  Public Domain

It is true that there is not enough time, but the best teacher include a little music, art, and physical movement into their classrooms.  They also include technology in their classrooms.  It increases engagement.  It makes learning more fun.  

It's not easy to include.  It reaches more students who learn a little differently than everyone else.  It's harder to include in lessons.  It takes more time to include in lessons.  It enhances the learning in lessons.  It is new and has to be learned.  It is constantly changing and must be continually adapted.

Another reason technology is not part of the lesson is because of "technology plans."  These are usually written by technology directors or central administrators outside the classroom.  It is often a government requirement for funding and becomes a list of computer hardware and infrastructure.  It is easier to hook all the computers up in a lab where the whole class can do the same thing at once instead of plopping one down in a classroom where it may or may not be used.

There are challenges using technology in the classroom.  It's hard.  It's new.  It's expensive.  

• How can integrating technology into our teaching enrich instruction and help promote learning? 

Alan November says we need "information communicating plans" instead of technology plans.  That way we focus on the quality of the information and relationships instead of asking which technology to buy.  The purpose of technology is it make work more efficient and to communication information to other people.  Only the latter directly affects student learning in the classroom.  

Communication creates connections.  It connects students and teachers.  It connects student together.  It connects people with the world.  Stephen Talbott hates technology because it disconnects people.  He says much I disagree with, but he does have a point.  Technology can disconnect us from those around us.  Just watch people on their cell phones.  

However, it can also bring us together.  Thomas Friedman said The World is Flat.  By that title, he meant that technology has virtually eliminated the distances between people.  Even though someone could be half a world away, you can still instantly send them text messages, talk to them on the phone as if they were standing right next to you, or even see their face via a webcam as if they were standing in front of you.  Skype can now translate a video conference between people of different languages in real time.  We can see on a map exactly where some is.  Soon we will be able to tour with someone anywhere they are in the world via virtual reality.  

Didgeman, Thomas B. 2015. 'Didgeman | Pixabay'. Pixabay.com. https://pixabay.com/en/chain-links-of-the-chain-iron-metal-517545/. 21 July 2015.  Public Domain.

People learn by connecting their old knowledge to new learning.  Interacting with people and objects helps cement those connections.  People are creating creating 24 hours of videos an posting them on Youtube and posting them every minute.  Creation coupled with social interaction enriches the student's engagement in learning so they can remember it for a lifetime.

Presentation Design Reflection

This week we began studying presentation design. I had no idea...
the presentation is more about the audience than the slideshow.


I can make a presentation easier on the audience's eyes by using light color fonts on a dark backgrounds.  The color choice makes it more attractive and the Helvetica font is easier to read at a distance.  

by Beatrice Murch used under ccBY license
https://www.flickr.com/photos/blmurch/3894993527/in/photostream/

An audience's attention span is about 10 minutes, so I need to break up a longer presentation into smaller chunks.  I can break it up by telling a story, doing an activity, showing a video, or engaging the audience emotionally. 


Finally, I can answer questions as an encore to the presentation.  I can first anticipate questions that audience might have and prepare slides for those.  Then, I can have a Question & Answer time to answer questions that I didn't anticipate.

By keeping my audience in mind when preparing the presentation, I I make it more relevant to and thus more enjoyable by the audience.  

Video In the Classroom

Video is a powerful way to teach digital natives in the classroom.  

a. Based on Prensky’s descriptions, are you a digital native or a digital immigrant? Why do you think so?

"Digital Natives" by Juan Cristóbal Cobo CC-by

I think I am a digital native because we grew up together, computers and I.  I have been interested in computers ever since we got a TRS-80 while I was in Jr. High.  I learned a little programming in BASIC on that computer and the Commodore 16 that my brother gave me for Christmas.  Then in High School our math teacher somehow got the school to install a computer lab of Commodore 64s and let him teach a computer science class.  We programmed our own computer game, and I was hooked.  I've had a computer ever since.  The technology has shrunk, becoming cheaper and more ubiquitous, and I use it everyday.
  
b. How are you equipped to teach the “digital natives” in your classroom? 
Being a digital native since consumer computers began, I understand them inside and out.  I know how to use technology for productivity and creation in addition to using them for entertainment.  I use technology several times a day and have taught with technology since I began my career.  I use social media to stay current on the latest technologies and their uses in education.  I think I'm equipped.

c. What further steps could you take to learn the “language” of multimedia?
Creating is the highest level of learning.  I can use multimedia and reading to learn multimedia and then create my own using their techniques.  I learn something best by using it.  A 365 project would be be a great way to learn the language, by posting something every day, be it a photo, video, audio, or other media.

By Matti Popesku (http://orange.blender.org/background) [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

d. What steps can you take to keep students safe from undesirable social video content?

By hengsheng120 Uploaded by Hengsheng120 at en.wikipedia [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

First, always watch the video first to make sure it is appropriate.  Then, there are several options for using safe videos with students.   One is to embed specific videos in the class LMS or on the class web page.  Safeshare.tv is a way to watch Youtube videos without all the distracting ads and related videos.  YouTube for Schools is one alternative to regular Youtube.  Creative Commons-licensed videos can usually be downloaded from Youtube and used if it is blocked at school. Whereas SchoolTube is an another video hosting service just for schools, TeacherTube and WatchKnowLearn pull videos from all over the web categorized by subject and level. SnagLearning has hundreds of good educational documentaries.  Those are just the free alternatives to school-safe videos.  There are other paid services like Discovery's United Streaming and Brainpop.  So, there are several ways to keep videos safe for students.  

Helping My Colleagues Get Better

Helping my colleagues be more effective instructors will require me to have conversations with them about what effective instruction looks like.  Unless I am directly instructing them about or modeling for them effective instruction, most of the help I would give my colleagues would be more informal interactions.  These are often the hallway or doorway conversations I have with colleagues about what is working or not.  Often just talking through reflection with someone else helps sort through the good and bad of a lesson.

Helping my colleagues be more effective instructors will require me to focus on improving students during our team or faculty meetings.  Faculty meetings tend to be more about school business.  Team meetings seem to be the place to talk about effective instruction.  However, in team meetings we could set aside time to talk about what is working in our teaching, maybe sharing teaching materials, and what still needs work in our classes.  This reflection time is a productive way to learn from each other, seeing how effective instruction works.  Thinking together, would also generate lots of possible solutions to problems with which each teacher would like help.

License: CC0 Public Domain 

We are preparing students for tomorrow, not 1991.  We can't still teach like we did in 1991, and must change.  Change is hard, but is much easier when there are others around you going through the same change.  If I lead by example, then have conversations and share in groups, I can be there to support my colleagues through changing times, 

Instructional Design

"Education has missed the boat, with respect to instructional design. Teachers come up with lesson plans on the fly, with little thought to why they are presenting information or even who their audience is. Teacher training, at the university level and during Professional development, needs to focus on helping teachers become comfortable with instructional design principles."

This is a complex statement, of which I agree with some parts and disagree with others. Education is a big field made up of a lot of teachers.  To say that all teachers put little thought into their planning, presentation, or their audience is an overgeneralization.  Sure, there are some who just teach with lecture, textbook, test, but I disagree with putting all teachers into that pot. 

Even some professional development and preteacher training falls into this pitfall of a lecture with no goals for the learners or assessments to gauge success.  I would agree with part that says teachers need to be taught (and modeled) how to use instructional design principles. Instruction needs to carefully plan the message of why the objective is important and take into account in the needs of the audience.

Student ownership of the learning is key to success.  The teacher need to convince the students to make the end objective their own learning goal.  Then the teacher can guide each student along a path to get him or her to the goal.  Some paths will vary from others, because not all students learn the same way. Finally, the students need ways to check how they are doing along the way and know when they've reached the goal.  

Instructional Design, like good teaching, comes from careful planning for the message and the audience.  Once teachers are comfortable using Instructional Design principles, then public opinion will begin to turn from the belief that education has missed the boat of effective teaching.

Transforming Literacy - Chapters 6-7

We cannot simply teach literacy. We have to talk about exposing what is true, employing information, expressing ideas compellingly, and using information ethically. It must be part of our conversations.
Warlick, David F, and David F Warlick. Redefining Literacy 2.0. Columbus, Ohio: Linworth Pub., 2009. Print.  

by Blake, Tupper Ansel, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

  Learning is no longer a passive activity, or shouldn't be.  Our understanding of learning has moved from a student being a passive receiver to an active creator.  They will move from having literacy to developing literacy habits.     
  Information is no longer scare.  It is now an ocean. The students themselves can navigate the information themselves, but it is perilous. They are no longer locked in their safe harbors, protected from the dangers of bias, opinions, and mistakes.   They will have a be taught how to sail safely, spot rocks their the course, and carefully navigate around submerged pitfalls that could run them aground.  
  They will now have to read critically instead of reading only curated texts.  They will have to beware of bias in articles instead of just accepting what they read at face value.  They will have to check facts for errors instead of relying on others to do it for they.  They will have to be flexible.

Flickr - Photo Sharing!,. (2015). Information Literacy . Retrieved 27 April 2015, from https://www.flickr.com/photos/erozkosz/600299533

  Students will need to learn how to learn so they can adapt to ever-changing waters.  They will not stay on the same course their whole lives like they parents and grandparents did.  They will have many different occupations throughout their lifetimes and will have to learn new skills to succeed in them. They will have to move from lifelong learning to a lifestyle of constant learning.  In the end, it is not reaching the port of destination that is the greated value, it is how you got there that mattered.